Judy Ball, 65, helped revamp zoo in Seattle

She dazzled him from that very first date, at — where else? — the Woodland Park Zoo.

Gordon Myers was an airline pilot, living in San Francisco, when he met Judith "Judy" Ball in 1989 at a Seattle party. She was the zoo's general curator, so she offered him a tour. They walked all over the 92-acre complex; she let him feed the giraffes.

"I said, 'Don't you ever take the electric carts?' and she said, 'No, they're too slow,' " Myers recalled with a laugh. "She just charmed me to death; it was instant. That was our first and last date. She took me home and nailed the door shut."

Ms. Ball, who died Feb. 10 at age 65 of complications from Alzheimer's disease, always looked at least 10 years younger than her age, friends and colleagues say. Myers, her former husband, thinks that's why it took doctors so many years to diagnose the disease, which apparently struck when she was in her mid-50s.

Those who knew her say she was a brilliant, high-energy woman who blended an analytic, scientifically trained mind with humor and a strong sense of compassion and social justice. Her résumé contained leadership roles in the King and Snohomish county governments, and her volunteer history included pioneering work in the late 1960s, fighting racial discrimination.

Her undiagnosed memory problems caused her to quit her final two jobs, Myers said. Doctors initially attributed her symptoms to stress, so she left Seattle in 1997, after 13 years as curator, to try a similar position at the Los Angeles Zoo. She resigned about two years later.

She and Myers had separated in 1996. But when he learned of her Alzheimer's in 1999, Myers said, he realized the disease had caused some of their marital problems. She had no immediate family, so he took her back into his life, overseeing her care.

First he moved her from California to his house barge on Lake Union. But she preferred warmer climates, so she spent her final years in Southern California.

Ten days before she died, in a Desert Hot Springs home purchased by Myers, a hospice rabbi unofficially remarried the couple.

Ms. Ball, formerly Judith Ann Cohen, was born and raised in Chicago. She entered college at age 15, earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in zoology at the University of Chicago. She devoted an additional four years of study, in Chicago and at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, toward a doctoral degree in genetics.

She acquired her surname, Ball, from an early, short-lived marriage, Myers said.

She moved to Seattle in the late 1960s, landing jobs teaching zoology and biology at Seattle University and Bellevue Community College. In 1970, she moved into government, starting as a supervisor with Seattle Housing Development.

Four years later, Ms. Ball began working for King County, rising to the position of deputy county administrative officer. She moved north in 1980 and spent three years as administrator of the Snohomish County Council.

Bruce Agnew, a former county councilman, remembers she "ruffled some feathers" at first. "She was a very tough budget person," he said, and grilled county department heads about their spending plans in an unaccustomed way. But she was fun, too, and they warmed to her.

"She had a very, very sharp mind — she could grasp the big picture [but] at the same time she had attention for detail," said Agnew, now director of the Discovery Institute's Cascadia Project.

Ms. Ball returned to her zoology roots in 1983, when she accepted a curator job at Woodland Park Zoo. She worked closely with former zoo director David Towne, helping guide the zoo's transformation into an award-winning showcase of natural animal habitats.

The Elephant Forest opened in 1989, followed over the next seven years by the Tropical Rain Forest, the Northern Trail for wolves, bears, otters and mountain goats, and the Trail of Vines for orangutans.

But her biggest thrill came in 1996, when she helped rescue 10 captive sun bears from the Malaysian island of Borneo. The North American zoo population of sun bears had been dipping dangerously low, so the rescue benefited both the bears — mostly confiscated pets — and the Cleveland, Chicago, New Orleans and Seattle zoos, which provided new homes.

"I have never seen her so happy. She had a sparkle in her eye that I'd never seen before," said Gigi Allianic, a zoo spokeswoman.

Constance Rice was a lifelong friend of Ms. Ball. They met in the late 1960s, when Rice encountered racial discrimination while searching for rental housing. Ms. Ball, then a volunteer with Seattle's Operation Equality, helped investigate Rice's complaint by posing as a potential renter.

"We hit it off. We both were individuals who believed in human rights and civil rights," said Rice, a manager of the Casey Family Program and wife of former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice.

"I was lucky, very fortunate to have crossed her path," she said. "Another woman warrior out there ready to fight for rights — of both human and animals."

A memorial is planned for 10 a.m. Sunday at the zoo's Butterflies & Blooms shelter.

Diane Brooks: 425-745-7802 or dbrooks@seattletimes.com