Naomi Louise Podolsky, 92, died Sunday, September 16, 2007, at Fairfield Memorial Hospital.  Burial in Haven Hill Cemetery in Olney.

Mrs. Podolsky was born May 30, 1915, in Olney, the daughter of William P. and Bernice (Cutshall) Zimmerly. She married Major Bernard Podolsky in 1943 in Long Island, N.Y. He survives.

She was president of her graduating class at Olney Township High School. She graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana in 1937. She worked as a Home Economist for the Farm Security Administration in Effingham and as a dietician in a New York City hospital. After her husband's discharge from the U.S. Army in 1946, they lived in Olney, moving to Fairfield in 1950. Through the Lions Club, she brought two Olney celebrations to Fairfield: the annual Easter Egg Hunt and Halloween Window Painting. She was a member of the P.E.O., Wayne County Homemakers Extension, and was both local and regional president of the Women's Club. She was a founder and president of the Fairfield Garden Club. She belonged to First Methodist Church.

Mrs. Podolsky was a keen observer of the world who always loved to travel. She and her husband explored Alaska, beginning in 1964. She visited every state in the Union but particularly loved the American West, beginning with her first automobile trip to California in 1939. They traveled together to China in 1980 as representatives of the American oil and gas industry, visiting the Mongolian border regions of the Tarim Basin and were among the first Westerners seen there since the Cultural Revolution. They explored Kenya, meeting the anthropologist Richard Leakey at Olduvai Gorge. Later, they made several trips to Mayan and Aztec archeological sights in Mexico. Five years ago, they returned with their daughter, Suzanne, to her birthplace in the Panama Canal Zone.

She was a member of the Southern Illinois Earth Science Club (and was still exhibiting minerals at their annual Carterville show through her 91st birthday). She was an active supporter of the Illinois State Geological Survey. She was a strong believer in nature conservation practices. This same courage and wide-ranging mind made her an early and outspoken advocate for reason, justice and women's rights. She will be sadly missed by her family, many friends and her community.

Mrs. Podolsky is survived by her husband, Bernard Podolsky; children, Dr. William J. Podolsky and his wife, Karen, of Fresno, Calif., Suzanne C. Schoomer and her husband, Paul, of St. Louis, Mo., and Michael D. Podolsky and his wife, Rita, of Fairfield; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale, IL - Saturday, September 22, 2007