Judith Weiss, class of 1944

by | Jun 1, 2023 | 1940s

Abstract

In this interview, Judith Weiss, undergraduate class of 1944, discusses her decision to attend Pembroke College and describes her roles as assistant editor on the Pembroke Record and Brun Mael, and her participation at the Brown News Bureau. She also mentions her involvement in the National Youth Organization, the Neighborhood Youth Corps, and her positions at the Providence Journal, Hartford Courant, and the Newark Daily Newsletter. She describes her family’s financial constraints that required her to work all throughout college as well as the effect of World War II on the greater community and her enlistment in the Women’s Army Corps. She fondly recalls Dean Margaret Shove Morriss and professors Israel James Kapstein and Ralph Blanchard. Cohen also shares reminiscences of Bessie Rudd, Magel Wilder, and Mary Louise Record.

See also: Learn more about Weiss’ experience during World War II in an oral history conducted by South Kingstown High School Student Jason Gelles Coming to Terms with the Holocaust… and Prejudice at Home.

Part 1

Part 2

Transcript

Recorded on February 25, 1986
Interviewed by Carol Fenimore

Suggested Chicago style citation: Weiss, Judith. Interview. By Carol Fenimore. Pembroke Center Oral History Project, Brown University. February 25, 1986.

Biography

Judith Weiss was born on November 10, 1923 and grew up in Rhode Island. She graduated from Hope High School in January 1940 and then from Pembroke College in October 1943 on the accelerated program with her A.B. in English. After graduation, Weiss worked for a newspaper for servicewomen during World War II and then enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps. She went on to receive an A.M. in political science from Brown University on the G.I. Bill. She worked as Assistant Director of the Blackstone Valley Community Action Program, Director of Administrative Departments at the Jewish Community Centers, and then worked for the Census Bureau. She married Aaron Cohen, a Brown University graduate, and had three children. She died in November 17, 1997 at the age of 74.