Judith C. Skinner, Esq. (In Memoriam).

Judy Skinner was a member of the CLF Board of Directors since 1996. She also helped to found our Vermont office, and the state's Board of Directors. After Skinner passed away in March, at 77, CLF president Douglas I. Foy wrote a letter to Judy's husband, A. Homer Skinner, expressing his and CLF's sense of loss at Judy's passing. Homer asked Doug to read the letter at "A Celebration of Judy's Life," held at the Skinner's Marblehead, Massachusetts home.

"We were all shattered to learn of Judy's death," Doug began. "She was an inspiration to a wide array of folks at CLF--both staff and Board. I remember the first time I met Judy. Peter Shelley [now Maine Advocacy Center Director] introduced us. Judy had already captured Peter's heart and soul, and had him fully deployed cleaning up Salem Harbor! She quickly captured my heart as well; she was so direct, yet so kind. So tough (Salem Harbor was going to be cleaned up! Jet skis must be banned!), yet so gentle.

"... She helped us build a legacy for all of New England, and the world. Much of our work on the North Shore was guided by Judy. Our thriving Vermont office is a tribute to her patience and tireless commitment. And all of us at CLF are better people, and better advocates, for having known and been befriended by Judy."

Judy Skinner graduated from Vassar College in 1945 with a degree in zoology. She taught science at a private school in Virginia, where she helped to save undeveloped Potomac River land from residential development, and to set up the first recycling program in northern Virginia. She married Homer in 1949. After the couple moved to Marblehead in 1979, Judy served on the town Conservation Commission, and initiated efforts to re-activate the South Essex Sewage Treatment plant, which was accomplished with CLF's assistance. She and Homer had four sons.