Judith Grace Riemer

Judith Grace Riemer, aged 59, died at her home in Riverside on Saturday, January 17, with her husband Craig at her side. Her death ends the fight against cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) that she had waged since her diagnosis in October of 2012.

Judy was born on November 5, 1955, to Carl and Pat Carlson in Pasadena, California. After moving to Santa Ana when she was four years old, she attended Foothill High School, where she was selected to represent the school at Girls’ State and in the Orange County Academic Decathlon. She attended the University of California at Irvine for one year before transferring to UCLA in 1974 where she was acknowledged as a Regents’ Scholar for academic excellence. She graduated from UCLA School of Nursing in 1977, and promptly passed the state board exam as a registered nurse.

Also in 1977, she married her high-school sweetheart, Craig Riemer. While he attended law school at UCLA, she started her nursing career in the pediatric ward of the medical center there. Later, she served as a school nurse in the LA Unified School District. After Craig graduated from law school in 1980, they moved to Riverside. There, she found her professional niche as a public health nurse with the Riverside County Health Department, where she worked until 2006. After earning her MS in nursing from Loma Linda University, she also worked as a part-time clinical instructor at LLU’s School of Nursing for several terms. From 2006 until ill health forced her retirement in 2013, she served as a consultant and trainer for a software company that produces a web-based documentation system for community health nurses across the country.

Judith was an expert in the Omaha System, a standardized classification system used internationally to document nursing assessments, intervention, and outcomes in community health nursing. She presented at numerous American Public Health Association Annual Meetings and Omaha System International Conferences on that and related subjects. She was a co-chair of the Omaha System International Conferences from 2008 to 2013, and was a member of the Omaha System Board of Directors from 2009 until her death. Always looking for opportunities to serve others, she also started the Parish Nursing ministry at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Riverside.

Despite her accomplished and varied nursing career, her favorite job – and the one of which she was the proudest – was raising her son, Carl, now 28 and a Latin American political analyst in Washington, D.C., where he lives with his girlfriend, Miranda Starkey. In addition to Carl, Judy is survived by her husband of 37 years, Craig.

When she was not working, raising Carl, supporting Craig in his career, or caring for her sick or aging family members, she enjoyed cooking, quilting, traveling, studying anthropology, and researching family history.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory either to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (www.cholangiocarcinoma.org) or to the Riverside Community College District Foundation to enhance the Judith Riemer Nursing Excellence Award that Craig endowed in 2009:

Riverside Community College District Foundation; RCCD Foundation

Memo: Judith Riemer

4800 Magnolia Ave Riverside California 92506

Donate by Phone 951-222-8626 Dina Anderson