Being the daughter of a peace activist wasn't always easy for Shanti Mohling — like the time her mom dressed in a rabbit costume at an anti-nuke protest, or the time she was arrested on Mother's Day. That was in 1987, when Judith Mohling traveled to Nevada to join 2,000 other protesters at a nuclear test site. They called themselves "Mothers and Others," and more than 700 were arrested for trespassing.

"I was a little alarmed because she was in jail," said Shanti, who was then in her 20s.

But with the one phone call she was allowed, Judith called her daughter and told her not to worry.

"She made it really clear that she was fine and not being mistreated," Shanti said.

Judith Mohling, a Boulder psychotherapist, has been a peace and anti-nuclear activist for 40 years, serving as the co-chair of the Colorado Coalition for the Prevention of Nuclear War and a board member of the national Alliance for Nuclear Accountability.

In the '60s — when Shanti and her younger brother, Tor, were growing up — Judith didn't have lots of time for activism.

"She was more about being a mom," said Shanti, 50, a doctor who lives in Taos.

Still, Judith did what she could, including naming her firstborn Shanti, which means peace in Sanskrit. "I had to explain that a lot," says Shanti.


Because Judith and her physicist husband divorced when the kids were young, Judith focused on raising children and going back to school to earn a master's degree in counseling. She made time to whip up homemade bread and homemade yogurt for the kids, and every summer when the backyard bloomed with wild daisies, she mowed them in the shape of a peace sign. The front yard also announced her passion for peace.

"Whenever I'd tell friends how to find our house, I'd say it was at the end of the street, the yard with 'War No More' signs," Shanti said.

Growing up with her mother, Shanti learned to be openhearted and friendly. Her mom's clients included people who were schizophrenic and homeless, and they often came up to talk with Judith and her kids on the street.

When the kids hit high school, Judith had more time, and joined the protests at Rocky Flats, a nuclear weapons production plant where radioactive waste had contaminated nearby communities. She also got involved with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, which had just opened as a core of nonviolent resistance to Rocky Flats.

Shanti, watching her mom grow as an activist, saw how much courage it took to stand up for your beliefs.

"As an activist, you're going against the grain, like when the country is at war, saying, 'We don't believe in this.' There's a vulnerability about exposing yourself as believing something different. That's challenging for a teen, because I supported her but I was also figuring out my own identity."

Shanti, married with a 13-year-old daughter, learned how to adapt those life lessons to her own personality.

"I'm much less vocal, and not 'out there' the way she is. I really admire who she is, but it's taken me longer to be as outspoken about my beliefs in politics."

Her mother's core value, however, influenced her own life.

"Compassion for others is the deepest essence of who she is," said Shanti. "And the essence of how I practice medicine has to do with compassion, which is one of the most important things I learned from my mother."

Colleen O'Connor: 303-954-1083 or

Power Moms

Colorado Mother's Day: Veronica Barela

Colorado Mother's Day: Marie Greenwood

Colorado Mother's Day: Judith Mohling