Judith “Judy” Malter passed away on May 4, 2024, just 20 months after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Up until the end, Judy maintained her smile, her love of animals, family and people and expressed gratitude for her life full of wonderful and varied experiences.
Judy was born August 27, 1939 and grew up in Brooklyn, NY as the only daughter of Harry Malter and Frances Eisenberg along with her brothers, Stuart and Jeff. She stayed in New York for her collegiate years and after graduation, she traveled to Israel and had the opportunity to explore Masada while living on a kibbutz.
Upon her return to the United States, she embraced her love of people in her work as a social worker and took an immense amount of pride in her ability to listen to and help others. She also met and married Hugo Castaneda with whom she moved to Mexico City and lived there for 12 years. While in Mexico, Judy fell in love with the culture and the art of Mexico, which would stay with her for the remainder of her years.
When Judy and Hugo moved back to the US in 1978 along with their children, Marcelo and Taryn, they settled in San Antonio, TX. Judy was very involved with her children and always supported their myriad of activities and encouraged them in every way that she could. She was a never-ending source of comfort to those who knew her. Her friendly nature and innate curiosity about people served her well in building friendships that often lasted decades. Despite her New York roots, San Antonio became her home as the Hispanic culture of the town spoke to her and made her feel in touch with the Mexican heritage that she had such passion for.
Judy spent years cultivating an amazing collection of Mexican folk art and pottery and would often spend hours scouring eBay for that next piece to add to her collection. Her ceramic cats were especially important to her and she had a healthy collection of pottery felines that she enjoyed admiring.
Judy was predeceased by her parents, Harry and Fran, as well as her brother Stuart Malter and her favorite cousin Joel Malter. She is survived by her brother Jeff and his wife Lisa, her daughter Taryn Saenz and her son, Marcelo Castaneda and his wife Beth McGuire. She is also survived by her four grandchildren, Benjamin Saenz, Reid Castaneda, Abby Castaneda and Addison McGuire.
Reception will be held on Sunday, May 26, at 2:00 p.m. at Sunset North Funeral Home at 910 N. Loop 1604E in San Antonio, with a memorial service to follow at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (www.alzfdn.org).
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.11.0