Susan Katz, education activist, JCRC, AIPAC leader, dies at 67

Susan Goldsmith Katz, a dedicated community activist, died at 67 on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Stanford University Hospital, after battling intestinal cancer.

She was the first chair of the South Peninsula School Committee for the S.F.-based Jewish Community Relations Council.

The committee was a Jewish resource for the public schools, arranging for school programs on Jewish history and the Holocaust, according to JCRC education director Jackie Berman.

A dedicated volunteer, Katz was also an active member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, helping to run the group's annual dinners, and served on the allocation committee of the Jewish Community Federation.

At the time of her death she was serving a second term on the executive board of the College of Letters and Science at U.C. Berkeley, and was a founding director of the Women's Heritage Museum in San Francisco. She was also an active volunteer and board member of Planned Parenthood.

Katz was born in San Francisco and was a graduate of Lowell High School and U.C. Berkeley. She maintained residences in both San Francisco and Portola Valley.

She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Robert L. Katz, and three sons and their wives, Andrew and Nancy Katz, Jeffrey and Terri Katz, and Peter Katz and Meg Marks. She is also survived by her sister, Ann Goldsmith Saphir, and seven grandchildren: Michael, Timothy, Jason, Samantha, Brian, Daniel and Zachary Katz.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, at Congregation Emanu-El, Arguello Boulevard and Lake Street, San Francisco. Contributions in Katz's memory may be made to the Susan G. Katz graduate fellowships in the College of Letters and Science c/o U.C. Berkeley Foundation, 2440 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720-4200.