This one hurts. This is one that most probably everyone who knew her never saw coming. Judy Phillips is gone. I’m still trying to process it. It’s surreal. It’s unbelievable.
I knew Judy from the time we were teenagers. She was, first and foremost, a Cedar Grove Saint, but before she was a Saint she was a Walker Warhawk. She attended Walker High School in the eighth grade and was a fixture at all our Walker reunions and picnics. She would proudly tell you that she was originally a Warhawk. After high school, she graduated from USC (University of South Campus – IYKYK), class of 1982. In 1987 she became a flight attendant with Delta Air Lines and worked there for almost twenty-five years, retiring in 2012. In 2017 she and her loving husband Brian moved to the North Georgia Mountains, settling in Hiawassee.
Judy was a dynamo and a force to be reckoned with, to put it mildly. If she became involved with anything, she jumped in with both feet. She was on the Cedar Grove reunion committee for years, and at the time of her passing was in the process of organizing the Cedar Grove Class of 1976 fifty-year reunion. She and Brian were very involved in their community and their church in Hiawassee.
Judy was very health conscience as well. She exercised regularly and maintained a healthy diet. She constantly posted data from her Apple Watch, reporting the distance she walked, stairs climbed and steps taken. Their basement room was full of gym equipment, which makes this all the more difficult to process.
We often talk about the fact that Boomers are losing more and more friends and loved ones. The more birthdays we have, the more it seems like we are receiving news of someone’s passing on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I know it is inevitable and is a fact of life that every generation, before and ahead, will experience. If we live long enough, we are going to have to endure it. I get that. But the fact remains that when I got out of bed yesterday morning, the call about Judy was the last call on earth I was expecting to get.
Judy is in heaven now. She’s reunited with her brother James and, if there is a reunion scheduled, she’s probably running the committee by now. And we are still here, left to wonder why her and why now. But that is not for us to know. God was ready for Judy and there’s no doubt she was ready for Him. I know she would have preferred to been allowed to wait longer, but that was not His plan.
Judy never met a stranger and lit up a room whenever she walked in. She was one of a kind and loved her family and friends deeply. So let us learn from her example. Let’s always remember where we came from. Let’s stay in touch with friends and family. If there is someone you have been meaning to call but haven’t, make time to do it. We never know when we speak to someone or see him or her that it may be the very last time. It’s a cliché, but it’s true. I spoke with Judy on the phone a little over a week and a half ago and I never fathomed it would be the last time. We never know. So, make it a point to meet a friend for lunch, dinner, or just to get together. Not just old friends. Make new friends and nurture those friendships. Reach out to the ones we care about and tell them so. Because we never know. We just never know.
Rest well, my dear friend Judy. There always was only one you. I hope to see you again someday. Your friend, Jimmy.