Judy Lee Klemesrud (1939-1985) was a writer for The New York Times from 1966 until her death in 1985.[1][2][3]
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Judy Lee Klemesrud was born in Thompson, Iowa to Glee (1909-1986) and Theo S. Klemesrud (1902-1995). She had a sister, Candace K. Klemesrud (1947-1989) and a brother, Tom Theo Klemesrud. Her father, who survived both his daughters, owned and published the Thompson Courier and the Rake Register in Iowa. She attended the University of Iowa from 1958 until she was graduated in 1961.
She later went to Columbia University to attend the School of Journalism. While attending the University of Iowa, she worked as an editor at The Daily Iowan. She then spent four years as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News. She then spent 19 years at The New York Times beginning in 1966, and ending at her death in 1985. She also wrote for such magazines as: Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, and The New York Times Magazine.
In 1968, she signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.[4]
She died of breast cancer in 1985 at the age of 46.[3]
She won various awards for her work at The New York Times. These included two "Page One" awards from the Newspaper Guild of New York for her 1973 story, In a Small Town U.S.A., Women's Lib is Either a Joke or a Rarity, and a 1983 profile on tennis celebrity Ivan Lendl. In 1969 she won a Front Page Award from the Newspaper Women's Club of New York for a story about adoptions by single women.