Judy has always been a wonderful mistory cousin for me. I remember the times we played in our back yard when I was about 10 and she was 16. And then the times I would hear that she was in the film "Cleopatric", working for National Geographic, living in Guam. I always wondered how she could do so much & travel so far. Judy's stories of those travels will always make me smile.
Lynn
Judy, John, Mari, Elizabeth, and my family experienced some wonderful times together on Guam. Our children shared interests such as swimming and dancing and we often got together with your family and other families for cookouts in the back yard on warm tropical evenings. One of my precious memories is Judy's Agana Market painting that displayed in your pictures on this site, and hangs in my guest bedroom to this day. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to re-unite a few times in Florida, and only wish it had been more often. I send my condolences to John, Mari, Elizabeth and families. I know you are blessed with sweet memories of Judy - your wife, mother. May you also be touched with peace.
I met Judy at my inlaws in the early 80's. They (Judy, John and girls) were in Decatur visitng family and we all shared dinner at "Bubba" and Genie's. I was so entertained by her vigor for life; her travels, living in Colombia, new adventures they were planning. I loved how she shared spending several nights on a wooden platform in Africa as if that was an everyday occurrence, taking me completely out of my comfort zone here in Decatur:) Needless to say I was so taken by her courage and confidence. From afar I've witnessed that same courage while she battled cancer, I was always amazed how she continued to live and see the world. I must say I was also aware of Judy's intentional effort to know about us and what we were doing. Even though our adventures didn't quite equal hers, she was interested in our lives, children, etc. I'm regretful I didn't know Judy better, but I'm grateful for the limited time I did share with her. May your spirit live on, Judy and to you John, Mari, and Elizabeth, may your wonderful memories carry you through the days ahead.
We met John & Judy in late 1986 when we were transferred to Colombia. There were a number of expats working in Colombia at the time, most with the Cerrejon coal project, for which John & I worked. John & Judy helped tremendously in our transitioning to the expat way of life. We shared a number of Colombian experiences. Whether it was enjoying Cartagena, the mud volcano, sitting on the beach in Taganga, or browsing the knitting shop, all wonderful memories. We also enjoyed our visits to their wonderful home in Fort Myers Beach, which Judy designed and supervised construction while battling breast cancer, remarkable. Out last time with them was about 5 years ago in Palm Springs, site seeing, dining out, or just relaxing. All memorable times. Judy will be missed, she made a positive difference in our lives. To John, Mari, Elizabeth and their families, Marie & I send our deepest heartfelt condolences and we will cherish the time we had with her
One of my earliest memories of my big sister, Judy, is when she invited me to participate in a design project. She was selected to design the decorations for her high school sorority dance with a butterfly theme. She (age sixteen) asked me if I (age six) wanted to help her with the project. We worked together for several weeks—she patiently explaining the process and mentoring my attempts. She and I cut butterflies out of construction paper, glittered the surfaces, added wire supports and pipe-cleaner antennae to each paper creature. I remember it as a flurry of scissors, glue, glitter and wire as the ever-increasing “flock” was placed on every horizontal surface in our small house. When the morning of the “installation” arrived, Judy allowed me to accompany her to the ballroom to climb ladders, hang crepe paper and attach the butterflies to suspended crepe paper. There were hundreds! I thought they were so beautiful! That night, as we arrived at the ballroom to witness the “lead-out” Judy was horrified to discover that the weight of the butterfly “flock” had stretched the crepe paper so that, instead of hanging over the heads of the attendees, they sagged to within three feet of the floor. Her initial horror turned to hysterical laughter as we all “swam” through the decorations. The butterflies were a huge success! As Judy’s name was announced and she was presented to the audience, I remember how beautiful she was in her long evening gown, on the arm of her suited escort, with glitter floating all around. I thought then, and reflect now, on how amazing it was for a young woman of sixteen to allow a six-year old little sister to be included in something so special.
Mimi and Poppy loved to travel, so they took us on a few trips. We went on a cruise to the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico. In Mexico we swam with the dolphins. One of the activities with the dolphins was when they would put their noses on our feet to lift us up in the air. Mimi was not sure if she should do that activity, so she did another one that she felt more comfortable doing because she did not want to miss her turn doing something she had never done before! In my opinion she looked like she had a lot of fun!! Also on the ship when we ate dinner at the nice restaurants, I would eat the lobster and steak, but my brother and cousins would eat the hotdogs and chicken nuggets. So Poppy and Mimi would always joke and laugh about that.
When we went on a cruise to Alaska, Poppy and Mimi always joked that they mixed up our rooms because we had the balcony room and they didn't. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony together looking at the glaciers and wildlife.
During Christmas my cousins and Christopher and I would argue about who would get Mimi and Poppy to spend the night on Christmas Eve, so they would take turns. Instead of Santa coming, Poppy would say the Great Pumpkin was coming. Mimi got to see what the Great Pumpkin brought us this year from heaven. I think she is looking down at us smiling and it gives me a great feeling knowing that she is in a better place than we are in now!
I love you Mimi!
On December 5th, the last time I saw Judy, we laughed together, for the last time, about the day we bought wicker rocking chairs from a street vendor in Colombia. Reminded of the incident by Judy's rocker, which all these years later still sits on her screened porch, we giggled together about how I asked the vendor, in bad Spanish, if I could change the "cojones." I wanted different cushions (cojines). I was one letter off and way out of line. The man never flinched while I struggled to correct myself, the two of us laughing all the while. I'll always be glad for that last chance to share a happy memory with Judy. There are so many - 30 years worth. Judy, my friend, be by my side, come to me in dreams, always remain the powerful presence you were in life.
