Veteran Industry Journalist Hedda Schupak Dies at 62

Former JCK editor in chief Hedda Schupak died Tuesday morning at the age of 62 after a two-year battle with lung cancer.

Schupak spent nearly her entire career in the jewelry industry, and almost all of those years as an editor for industry publications.

She worked at JCK for 23 years, beginning as a production editor and becoming editor in chief in 2000 — a position she held until 2009. She helped guide the magazine through a period of constant change, including corporate mergers and takeovers, spinoff publications, the shift to digital publishing, and a move from Pennsylvania to New York.

A graduate of Albright College, the award-winning writer and editor was inducted into the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) Hall of Fame in 2006.

After leaving JCK, Schupak became editor of the Centurion Daily News in 2010 as it moved from a monthly to a weekly and finally a daily publication in 2020. Even in retirement, she remained active in the industry. She is survived by her husband Jim Baum and her half-sister Susan.

Image: Hedda Schupak. (Hedda Schupak/Centurion)