When Clementine Brodsky and her husband, Allan, walked across the Roberto Clemente Bridge to attend Pittsburgh Pirates games, they often passed by a saxophonist. The Brodskys were regular Pirates fans, and after hearing the saxophonist on many game nights, Mrs. Brodsky eventually introduced herself. Every time they crossed the bridge after that, the musician would serenade them with “Oh My Darling, Clementine.”
Mrs. Brodsky’s charisma and ability to coObituary: Clementine Brodsky / Lifelong social justice activist was committed to Jewish communitynnect with others defined the decades of community organizing and social outreach she did in the region, from helping to found the first Reform Jewish community in the North Hills, to advocating for women’s rights and fighting against racism.
“She was very energetic, she loved getting to know people,” said her daughter, Anne Brodsky, of Washington D.C. “Her motto was that she always wanted to do her best, and her way of thinking about social justice was that everyone should have the opportunity to do their best. She wanted to see everyone succeed.”
Mrs. Brodsky died July 3 in Silver Spring, Md. The cause was complications of dementia, her daughter said. She was 80.
When Mr. and Mrs. Brodksy moved to Shaler in the early 1960s, there was no active Jewish congregation in the area. Seeking a local religious community, the Brodskys and other families formed the North Hills Jewish Community Center, which eventually grew into Temple Ohav Shalom, a thriving synagogue.
Rabbi Sharyn Henry of Rodef Shalom in Squirrel Hill, who was the rabbi at Temple Ohav Shalom during the 1990s, said Mrs. Brodsky was on the synagogue’s social action committee, which worked on issues involving injustice, racism, and gender inequality.
“She was extremely gregarious and always had a wonderful smile,” Rabbi Henry said. “She was very committed to her Jewish community and serious about political issues.”
Clementine Klein Brodsky, the only child of Jay and Alice Hommel Klein, grew up in Joplin, Mo., where her father owned a men’s clothing store. Her mother was a Pittsburgh native, and Mrs. Brodsky grew to love the city as a child, her daughter said.
After graduating from high school, Mrs. Brodsky went to Montgomery County, Pa., to attend Beaver College, the all-women’s precursor to Arcadia University.
As a sophomore, she went on a blind date with Allan Brodsky, a junior at Lehigh University from Stroudsburg who had just returned from service in the Korean War.
“In that era when girls went out, they wore white gloves. Clemmy always had a pair of white gloves in her trench coat,” Mr. Brodsky said. “We went to a Lehigh football game and one thing led to another.”
They were married in the fall of 1958, after Mrs. Brodsky graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. They lived briefly in Williamsport before moving to Shadyside. Mrs. Brodsky’s mother had also earned a degree in chemistry — from the University of Pittsburgh in the 1920s — and worked in a local water filtration factory, Anne Brodsky said.
But 30 years later, armed with the same degree, Mrs. Brodsky was turned away from jobs in the industry because she was a woman, her daughter said. She began teaching science classes at Shaler High School and was immediately drawn to the community.
“She told me, ‘If the kids are this nice, the parents must be nice, too. Let’s move here.’” Mr. Brodsky said. They stayed in Shaler for 50 years.
Mrs. Brodsky stopped teaching after her daughter was born in 1965, but earned a master’s degree in counseling from Pitt soon after. The couple had a son, Jay, in 1969. Both children attended Shaler High School.
Mrs. Brodsky was committed to advancing social justice programs in the Pittsburgh area, her children said. In the 1970s, she was part of the local Panel of American Women, in which she and other North Hills women from various faiths educated the public about recognizing commonalities in others despite differences.
“The Reform Judaism that my mother grew up with was founded on ethics and social outreach, and the work she did reflected that in all sorts of ways,” her daughter said.
As a member of the Pittsburgh North Anti-Racism Coalition, Mrs. Brodsky worked to raise awareness about racism and have open discussions about community problems, her son said. She was also an active member of the North Hills branch of the YWCA and served on the board of the Greater Pittsburgh Area YWCA.
When Mrs. Brodsky’s children started taking French classes at school, she began coordinating the NACEL international student exchange program, persuading Pittsburgh families to host French students over the summer. She studied French herself for years, her daughter said, so she could communicate with the students who arrived every year.
She and Mr. Brodsky moved to a retirement community in Hampton about a decade ago, and more recently to one in Silver Spring.
“She felt that we are all equal and all of humanity deserves similar opportunities,” her son said. “She pursued that goal and philosophy on a person-by-person connection. No matter what class, station, religion, sexual orientation, race — she wanted to connect with everyone.”
In addition to her husband, daughter and son, who lives in Arlington, Va., Mrs. Brodsky is survived by three grandchildren.