In Memoriam
We remember and honor those who inspired, founded and guided Tobinworld through over 40 years of serving the mental health needs of our community.
Judy Weber Israel (1934-2024)
It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of Judith Weber Israel, a beloved wife, mother, granny, sister, aunt, friend, and advocate for children with special needs. Judy, as her loved ones called her, lived life to the fullest.
Judy’s life was transformed by the birth to her third child. Tobin was diagnosed as severely autistic at a time when little was known about how to help autistic children and how to help their families cope with them. Judy made it her life’s mission to change that. She became a trailblazer, tirelessly raising funds from private benefactors and lobbying effectively at the state capitol in Sacramento to obtain public funding for a proposed day school. She named the school Tobinworld after her son Tobin and his favorite song, “It’s a Small World”.
For much of its existence the Tobinworld school was in Glendale, CA. It was a place of last resort for children who could not be adequately served by the public school system. In 2002 Judy opened the Tobinworld Mental Health Center on the Glendale campus to provide counseling for children with special needs. In 2019, she reluctantly closed the Tobinworld school but continued to run the clinic. In 2022, Tobinworld Mental Health Center relocated to Pasadena, CA.
Judy was loved by her staff. Tobinworld has a family atmosphere in which helping others is the main mission. Judy’s love was motherlike to many of the staff, to the students, and to the students’ parents. Judy was a true woman of valor whose determination, faith and huge heart gave her strength that moved mountains, helped thousands of special needs children, and provided thousands of jobs over the years. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors honored Judy for her many years of work. Psychology Today presented her with their caregiver award. Although Judy received many awards during her journey, her most cherished reward was creating a school that educated and effectively treated her son and others like him. Judy’s family and the Tobinworld staff continue to fulfill her life’s work and dream.
Toby Alan Weber
All of Tobinworld mourns the passing of Tobin Alan Webster, even as we follow the mission he inspired: serving the mental health needs of children and young adults in the Los Angeles area.
Toby had largely nonverbal autism. When he was born 57 years ago, the nature and challenges of autism were for the most part misunderstood and there were no programs for autistic children in Los Angeles. His mother Judy saw this as an injustice and created a special education school named Tobinworld, a happy collision of Toby’s name and his favorite song: “It’s a Small World (After All)”!
