Judy Oppenheimer, a former Baltimore Jewish Times writer who also wrote for The Washington Post, the Village Voice and the Forward, died Wednesday, May 1, at 82.
Oppenheimer leaves behind a paper trail of countless articles and books with subjects ranging from cultural criticism to coverage of then-breaking world news.
“She taught me how to really see people and how to listen. And she infused me, intentionally or not, with this relentless kind of appetite to explore new places and understand the nuances and stories of people from all walks of life,” said her son, Toby Oppenheimer, in an interview with the JT. Toby Oppenheimer has gone on to follow in his mother’s footsteps, telling stories as a documentary filmmaker rather than a print journalist.
After majoring in American studies at George Washington University, Judy Oppenheimer started her career in journalism making copies for writers at The Washington Post. A position focused on such menial tasks may not seem interesting now, but at the time, it was a job that typically went to male college graduates from Ivy League schools. A woman like Oppenheimer holding the job of being a “copy girl” and acquiring an internship in the ensuing years was a rare occurrence.
Oppenheimer’s next position was also a rarity. She became a film critic at the Philadelphia Daily News in 1966, and was only one of two female journalists in the entire newsroom.
In Oppenheimer’s own words, though, she did not get into journalism to break barriers or to prove that women could be journalists.
“I sometimes ask myself how I got into journalism, but I think I know … it has to do with greed. But not greed for material things, God knows it hasn’t meant that … for something much bigger … experience,” Oppenheimer wrote in a personal essay that was later read aloud at her funeral. “At a certain point … even when you’re first starting out … you come to terms with the fact that you’re not going to be able to do it all. No one gets to. There’s a lot of experiences I’m never going to have … but I can listen to people who have had these experiences and so hard and at such length. It’s as close as you can get.”
Oppenheimer’s attitude and approach to writing left a strong impression on many of her colleagues.
“Judy was just a very vibrant, lively person who made our windowless little newsroom feel more alive,” recalled Stephanie Shapiro, who first met Oppenheimer 40 years ago while they were both writing for the Montgomery County Sentinel. “She embraced people. She was curious. She asked questions, and she was so confident.”
Oppenheimer married fellow journalist Jerry Oppenheimer, who worked at the Daily News and later at the Evening Star. They had two children together, Jesse and Toby. The latter served as inspiration for one of Oppenheimer’s books, “Dreams of Glory,” which chronicled a season on the high school football team he played on.
She also wrote the book “Private Demons,” the first biography of “The Lottery” writer Shirley Jackson. It was extremely well received by The New York Times Book Review, but Oppenheimer said she enjoyed researching Jackson’s life and writing the book the most.
After having children, Oppenheimer primarily focused on freelancing. Her work appeared in publications like Salon and Washingtonian, and went on to win several awards. She went above and beyond for her work for the Baltimore Jewish Times, traveling in 1994 to Argentina to cover the aftermath of the bombing at Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina, a Buenos Aires Jewish community center. The case was unsolved for decades; last month, Argentina’s highest criminal court said that Iran was behind the attack.
“[Oppenheimer] had this relentless curiosity, empathy and commitment to finding the tiny needles of optimism and joy in the haystack,” Toby Oppenheimer said. “She was compassionate, but allergic to sentimentalism in her writing. To artifice and flowery prose. I tried to take that from her, her ability to strip things down to their bare bones and to put herself out there in the world by sharing stories.”
In addition to being a writer, Oppenheimer was a teacher. She taught classes at the University of Maryland as part of a masters’ program for journalists, and was a well-liked and enthusiastic professor.
“Every time I’ve sat across from anyone… whether it’s a Noble Peace Prize winner or a welfare mother, I’m always really only asking the same question — what is it like to be you?” Oppenheimer wrote. “That’s what I really want to know… to soak up. And you listen, people will tell you.”
Oppenheimer is survived by sons Toby and Jesse; grandchildren Max, Louise and Julien; sister Ida; nephew Koby; daughter-in-law Josee; and a handful of friends who stuck by her side until the end. She was predeceased by parents Jeanne and Ralph Altman and sister Deborah Altman.
