Phyllis Katz

Phyllis Katz (nee Friedman), loving mother, grandmother, sister, and wife, passed away on January 24, 2025. She was a dedicated science educator, avid reader, collector of textiles, world traveler, educator, planner, and starter of conversations with everyone she met. Phyllis was born in the Bronx, New York in 1946 and grew up in Queens. After marrying Victor in 1969, they moved to Washington, DC. She started the afterschool science program, Hands-on-Science Outreach, in 1980, which grew under her leadership into a national and even international program serving tens of thousands of kids.

She received her PhD in Science Education from the University of Maryland in 2002 and authored numerous books and articles. She was an active member of the informal science community in the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), where she advocated for the recognition of the work of informal science educators. In 1999, she received the NSTA Informal Science Award. She was mother to three children and grandmother to 8 grandchildren with whom she loved to travel, bake, craft, sew, and photograph. She was a steady chronicler, producing hundreds of photobooks that documented nearly every episode and occasion in her family’s lives over the last 20 years. She always wanted to visit Antarctica, a trip she and Victor were able to take in February 2024. She was an active member of Jewish communities wherever she lived, including Kol Shalom in Rockville, Maryland, and Kol Shalom in Bainbridge Island.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years Victor Katz, daughters Sharon Katz Cooper and Naomi Spinak, son Ari Katz, grandchildren Reuven, Judah, and Yaron Cooper, Jacob, Mirit and Lilah Spinak, Nickolai and Samara Katz. The Cook Family Funeral Home is handling funeral arrangements and shiva will be held on Bainbridge Island at her home at 9 am and 5:30 pm Wednesday through Friday and on Sunday at her daughter Naomi’s house. Donations can be made in her honor to Mazon, a Jewish organization serving the hungry.