Pat Rostker

Social worker Pat Rostker, husband Skipper and daughter Vivion joined two other families in a court case to desegregate schools in Pasadena, Calif. Their case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in their favor in 1974.

The decision made Pasadena the first school system outside of the South to be subject to court-ordered desegregation. Rostker was “the glue that really kept the other persons involved in the court decree together,” Pasadena NAACP President Joe Brown said.

Rostker died recently died in her home at age 90 and is survived by her husband of 67 years, four children and four grandchildren.

She was also a leader of various community organizations to help the aging and created a job placement service for older workers. She was its director until retiring in 1983.

To read her full obituary in the Whittier Daily News click here.