Cynthia Vroom

Oct. 6,1949 - Nov. 27, 2019 San Francisco

Cynthia passed away peacefully on November 27, 2019 after a 5-year battle with cancer. Born and raised in San Jose, Cindy was a graduate of Willow Glen High School, where she first fell in love with the French language. After completing her B.A and M.A. degrees in French (minoring in Italian) at San Jose State University, she earned a Ph.D. in French Literature from UCLA.

She worked as a paralegal before being accepted into Stanford Law School. Upon graduation, she worked at several law firms specializing in corporate, immigration, and intellectual property/copyright law. She found her dream job as a Legal Counsel at the University of California. Her primary areas of practice included employment litigation, First Amendment issues, and academic personnel issues. Cindy was one of the foremost authorities on academic freedom and routinely advised the Academic Senate. She was highly regarded by her peers and was qualified as an attorney and counselor of the US Supreme Court.

She was tenacious, persistent, and unyielding in achieving her goals. She was a Visiting Professor at the University of Aix-Marseille and published articles on comparative constitutional law thus beginning her long association with Aix-en-Provence and lifelong friendships built while living there. She was invited every year to represent the United States at the annual International Roundtable on Constitutional Law in Aix.

She had the honor to serve as interpreter for Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the 1989 roundtable and attended an international law symposium in Warsaw along with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner.

The daughter of a collegiate athletic coach, Cindy was an avid fan of college sports, soccer and basketball in particular. She was fluent in Italian and served as an interpreter for the Italian National Soccer Teams at the 1984 Olympics.

Cindy was an avid art collector and loved the opera and classical music, but was just as happy listening to Bob Dylan and blues/jazz artists. She had a passion for cooking, appreciation for good food and wine, and loved spending time with her family and friends.

Cindy leaves a legacy of loyal friendship, courage, pursuit of excellence, and generosity. She was a unique individual with an unquenchable zest for life, never hindered by the conventional nor appeased by mediocrity.

Cindy was preceded in death by her father Gerald A. Vroom and mother Gladys J. Vroom. She is survived by her brothers Scott (wife Kitty), Barry (wife Jinny), Brad (wife Laurie), and nieces and nephews, Katie, Cory, Addie, Dylan, Lauren, Erin. She was laid to rest in a private family ceremony. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made at cancer.ucsf.com