Linda S. Schultz (nee Bogdonoff)

After a life filled with love for family and friends as well as books and travel, Linda Schultz passed away on December 9th at the age of 82. She was pre-deceased by her husband Jerry who she was happily married to for 60 years.

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Linda grew up in Utica, New York where she enjoyed a childhood filled with outdoor activities and adventures in her neighborhood. She graduated from Utica Free Academy and then attended Simmons College in Boston. After her third year, she married Jerry Schultz and they moved to New York City where she finished her undergraduate degree at The New School for Social Research. She later earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology from Fairleigh Dickenson University.

Linda’s long career of volunteer activity in the Jewish community began with the National Council for Jewish Women, where she worked in a program called WISH (Women in Self Help) that offered anonymous peer counseling on the phone. She later became very involved in many activities of Federation and joined the Lester Society to ensure the continuation of support for Jewish causes and identity.

Linda had many accomplishments in her service to the Jewish community. For ten years she served on the board of Jewish Family Service. She was president for three years of the New Jersey chapter of the National Women’s Division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and she was a board member of American Jewish Committee where she was involved with the Committee for Contemporary Jewish Life. She loved to learn about Judaism in classes and discussion groups. In recent years, she returned to NCJW to co-chair Politics and Pastry, a discussion group about politics, which was a topic she loved to discuss with friends and family as well.

Linda enjoyed traveling the world, playing bridge, and reading books. She was an enthusiastic dog lover and spent many happy times walking in South Mountain Reservation with the family dog. She is survived by Dana and Jerold Ruderman and their children, Alex (and his wife McKenzie) and Stephanie; Stacey Schultz and Chris Fontecchio and their sons Sage and Sascha, and Ken and Mickey Schultz and their daughters Kaya and Jaiden. She will be missed by them all.