Judge Rya W. Zobel died on July 4 after a remarkable life and career. She escaped the Nazis, lost her father to Soviet prison camps (where her mother was also confined for years), and came to the US with her brother as an immigrant, speaking little English. Soon she had graduated Harvard Law School and would go on to be a partner at the prestigious firm of Goodwin, Procter before becoming the first woman to serve on the federal bench in Massachusetts, where she distringuished herself for decades. Hats off to this pioneering jurist and condolences to her friends and family.
