Yesterday my sister, Judy, would have been 80 years old. Sadly, she passed away in August 2012 at only 67. Now that I am and feel significantly older at age 75 (won’t be 76 for 10 more days), I realize how very young she was when she passed. Not that others haven’t lived shorter lives, but in my world and in my family history, this is a young age to die.
Judy was daughter #2 of us three daughters. She was definitely my father’s daughter. She was more technical than Marilyn, the oldest, or me. How do I know? She would take my toys apart to see how they worked. She was known to put the toy back in working order, but sometimes had a part or two leftover! She was also very curious—one time lighting matches outside our home to see how they burn, except she was standing next to a totally dead evergreen bush, which subsequently caught on fire. No problem—she blamed it on the neighbor man, until my dad got mad and started to go outside and confront this neighbor. She also had a conscious and immediately confessed to her deed and accepted the appropriate punishment whatever that was!
As kids we played together–or should I say, after Marilyn became a teen and for a year or so, Judy was still a kid who wanted to play. I have fond memories of that short period time of playing.
Christmas decorating was not my dad’s favorite activity. In fact, it wasn’t on his radar at all. Judy became the one who helped mom select the tree at the tree lot, and she strung all the lights before we could decorate. She also was very particular—the tinsel had to go on the tree one strand at a time—no just throwing it on.
After graduation from high school, Judy worked for my dad for a year. She then enrolled in Missouri Baptist Hospital School of Nursing. Her first year of training was at Hannibal LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri. Then she came back to St. Louis and finished her training at the hospital. She worked hard and did well in training, and was an incredible nurse.
Judy was the maid of honor at my wedding. She was my nurse in the delivery room when I had my first child.
After mom mom passed, our sister, Marilyn, moved from St. Louis, and then, our dad moved to Arizona. Judy and I were the two orphans left in St. Louis. We started doing our holidays at each other’s home. I convinced her to do Thanksgiving, because still being employed, the thought of making a large turkey dinner was overwhelming to me. Christmas is my favorite holiday anyway, so hosting it was my thing. We always ended the day with a great Trivia Pursuit game of my family against her family. It was always a day with a lot of love and laughter.
It’s been 12 years since she has been gone, and I miss her. We definitely did not agree on everything, but we agreed on more than we disagreed. Every December 6th, I think of her. I think of our childhood together, our years where we weren’t as connected, and the last number of years where we were very connected.
When it is time for me to leave this earth, I have confidence I will see her again. Until then, I will miss her. Happy heavenly birthday, Judy.
Andrea Unsinkable 