San Benito High School has lost one of its champions with the death of long-time Board of Trustees member, Judy Rider.
Rider, 62, died in November after a year-long battle with cancer. Rider had been a trustee with the San Benito High School District for 16 years, but more than that, she was an avid supporter of Baler sports programs and a voice for children throughout San Benito County, said County Superintendent of Schools, Tim Foley.
“Judy gave so many years and so much of her time to the children and young people of this community,” Foley said. “She did warm and wonderful work in so many different areas.”
As the director of the Methodist Preschool in Hollister for 34 years, Rider was able to help many students get off on the right foot, laying the groundwork for something she truly believed in – a good education.

“She always put the students
first, from her first years
on the board at Tres Pinos
School to her many, many
years at the high school…”

“She was a great person who cared for kids,” said Duane Morgan, state chairman of California USA Wrestling, Inc. and vice principal at San Benito High School. “As director of the preschool, she prepared children for school with a message of encouragement and happiness.”
Rider was a trustee during a time when SBHS district was experiencing many changes, including the decision to expand the current campus rather than create a second high school. Rider always had the best interests of the students in mind when it came time to vote on issues, Foley said.
“She always put the students first, from her first years on the board at Tres Pinos School to her many, many years at the high school,” he said. “That was how she looked at things.”
Rider was a founding member of the Baler Education Foundation, an organization created to support projects at the high school that are too costly or too specialized for the district to fund on its own. She was also active in several high school sports programs, serving as a booster for Baler football, wrestling, baseball, and the band program. She worked as a Category 1 State Pairing Official for California USA Wrestling, Inc. Last year, she was the recipient of the Irv Oliner award at the State’s high school wrestling tournament for her outstanding contributions to California wrestling. She was also recently honored as a charter member of the Baler Education Foundation’s Hall of Fame.
“It is important to remember with great gratitude the fact that Judy walked among this community and raised the level of the community wherever she traveled,” said Stan Rose, Superintendent of San Benito High School. “She was truly a great woman, great in her service which uplifted the lives of many, and great in the humble spirit of service she brought to all her work. Students of San Benito High School and members of the community can look to her as a model of how to contribute to one’s community with grace, love and with no expectation of self-reward. Students and community can honor her best by following her example.”

“She was an inspiration to
all of us and we will sorely
miss her.”

Rider is survived by her husband, Don; her children Tim, Bill, Ken and Donny and their spouses, her parents, several brothers and a sister, her stepchildren, 13 grand-children, and 4 great grandchildren.
“The work she did for this community, especially the wrestling team, was just wonderful,” Foley said. “She really was the spirit of that team. She was an inspiration to all of us and we will sorely miss her.”