Edith “Edy” Schwartz, whose support of her adopted hometown took many forms, was recently honored by the Moraga Town Council for her decades of community work.
Schwartz, 75, died Sept. 8 in Moraga.
She was a community activist in Moraga for almost 45 years, starting with her work for the town’s incorporation drive in 1974. She is listed as a 2018 board member of the Moraga Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports a wide variety of groups both public and private that improve Moragans’ quality of life.
In between those duties, Schwartz co-founded the Moraga Citizens Network in 2005, which promoted citizen involvement in local issues; served as president of the Moraga Chamber of Commerce from 2008 to 2012; and served as director of community marketing for the California Independent Film Festival from 2010 to 2014.
She also worked on two separate campaigns to keep the classic art deco Rheem Theatre from closing. The theater is the official home for the California Independent Film Festival, and in August Schwartz was awarded a star in the Classic Film Hall of Fame in the Rheem Theatre.
A native of Reno, Nevada, she and her husband Jeff moved to Moraga in 1967; the couple had two children. Edy taught for several years in the Moraga School District. In 1984-85, she and her husband lived in Madison, Wisconsin for a year, based there as they spoke around the Midwest promoting the goals and ideals of Beyond War. This movement, which seeks to end global disaster, survives today.
Edy Schwartz was Moraga’s 2010 Citizen of the Year, and in 2014 was inducted by the Contra Costa Commission for Women into the Women’s Hall of Fame.
A celebration of life for Schwartz will be held on Oct. 6 at Rancho Laguna Park, 2101 Camino Pablo in Moraga.
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