WATSONVILLE—Judy Doering Nielsen’s love for the Watsonville community led her to become thoroughly entrenched in its inner workings, from its history to its politics to its people.
She served as Watsonville Mayor and President of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association (PVHA), in addition to a list of volunteer activities too numerous to list in their entirety, including the Salvation Army, the Agricultural History Project and the Santa Cruz County Small Business Council.
Doering Nielsen died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. She was 76.
“She never ceased to inspire people with her passion, her thoroughness, her strong will and her love for the community,” said friend Chuck Allen, who serves as PVHA Vice President.
Doering Nielsen was so invested in the PVHA, Allen says, that she would come prepared to the meetings even during her cancer treatments, using her financial acumen from her 30-year career in the banking industry to find flaws in the balance sheets.
Doering Nielsen led fundraising efforts to build the Borina Archive & Alzora Snyder/Jane Borg Research Center archive at the PVHA, which opened in 2015, Allen said.
She also spearheaded the Holiday Lights event at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, which draws thousands during the Christmas season, Allen said.
“It was all Judy,” he said. “She was the one who had the vision of how to create it. Everyone else just followed her directives, and it turned out just the way she described it.”
Watsonville City Councilman Lowell Hurst described Doering Nielsen as “gracious,” and a “generous volunteer” who was active in civic affairs.
“I will always remember her commitment to Watsonville and her efforts in the community to try and make things better,” Hurst said. “She helped shape the community.”
Watsonville Aptos Santa Cruz Adult Education Director Nancy Bilicich, who also served as mayor and on the Watsonville City Council, said Doering Nielsen was “a friend to many, many people.”
“She cared about individuals and always had time for a hello,” Bilicich said. “Judy was a strong well-respected leader and made a difference in our community.”
Doering Nielsen graduated from Watsonville High School in 1963, and was added to the school’s Alumni Hall of Fame in 2008. She became the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year in 2003, and in 2015 she and her husband Stan Nielsen were given that organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Doering Nielsen grew up on her family’s farm on Amesti Road, where she and her sisters would work summers picking apples and plums. In a recent talk at the Watsonville Woman’s Club, she said she would also help her family keep financial records for the farming operations.
“Keeping track also meant that I had to keep track of hours worked, and would sometimes ‘dock’ my sisters’ checks if they were goofing off,” she said. “They were not happy.”
Doering Nielsen’s sister Patty Stepovich—the youngest of four sisters—said that Doering Nielsen was the “rock of the family” who helped her siblings when their husbands died.
“She was not only my sister, but she was my best friend,” Stepovich said. “Judy was someone I always looked up to. Whenever something needed to be done all you had to do was ask Judy, and she would make sure it got done right.”
Doering Nielsen also had a passion for preserving Watsonville’s history and considered it a privilege to serve on the Watsonville City Council and as mayor, Stepovich said.
Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture CEO Shaz Roth described Doering Nielsen as a “true leader” unafraid of opposition.
“She was one of those people that would stand for her beliefs and stand true to it,” Roth said. “She wanted nothing but the betterment of the community in everything she did.”
Doering Nielsen was also known for her fierce advocacy, Roth said.
“She was unashamed and unafraid of speaking her voice,” she said. “She said so many times what people wanted to say, but she had the strength to say it.”
Roth said that Doering Nielsen spent hours volunteering at the Santa Cruz County Fair in September, despite being sickened by cancer and the treatments.
“There’s very few people that have had the dedication and the heart for the community that she had,” Roth said. “She bled Watsonville. Her heart was Watsonville.”
