Judy Horne Church

Judy Horne Church, January 23, 1932-February 26, 2025

EI as she was affectionately known, was a shining light in the lives of all who loved her. Her life was marked by a love for learning, a love for teaching, a love for her family and her unwavering faith in God. Her passing has left a void in the hearts of her family. They will always remember the extraordinary life she lived.

Judy was one of seven children. She adored her siblings, and the close-knit family loved getting together for family meals and holidays. Early in life, Judy helped at home as her mother’s sickness took a toll on the family, but nothing would stop her from being the first from her family to go to college. She attended Mars Hill College and then graduated from Wake Forest College. She was a national debater and public speaking champion at Wake Forest. 

Judy loved to teach whether in public school, vacation Bible schools or Sunday school. She won Teacher of the Year in Forsyth County, and other honors for her extraordinary ability to inspire middle schoolers to learn. She was selected for workshops, curriculum

In her spare time, Judy loved to read and loved the public library. She thought reading should be the national pastime. In retirement, she started a tutoring program with her friends at First Baptist and actually won the Volunteer of the Year for North Carolina. 

She loved her girls, Bev and Cynthia. She loved hearing them sing in church and enjoyed their company. She taught them a love for family, forgiveness, striving to do your best, and treating others as they would like to be treated and that when you get knocked down you pick yourself up and put one foot in front of the other.  Her favorite lesson was “when a task is first begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the task great or small, do it well or not at all.”

She loved her grandchildren, Price, Annie and Will. They filled her life with joy.

The family has expanded to include Bev’s husband, Doug, Annie’s husband Matt, and great-grandchildren Byron and Ila. 

Judy loved her relatives and friends and always cared about what was happening in their lives. One of her favorite verses of scripture was 2 Kings 4:16, “with relatives near, I have all I need.”

The sad part of her passing is thinking of how much her love meant to all of us and how much our loving her meant to her. 

Unfortunately, Judy’s struggle with dementia began around the time of COVID and the isolation and strict confinement of the epidemic led her to a bad time in her life. The effect COVID had on our nation’s seniors was devastating. It was a nightmare for Judy, her family and especially for Doug, Bev and Cynthia. However, like many other times in her life, her resiliency and spirit allowed her to come out of this time and rebuild a different life. She wasn’t the person she was before; she had changed. It was interesting to observe. She became a social butterfly at Laurel Lodge in Cleveland when she came to live near her family. She was the belle of the ball, greeting all of the residents and helping Bev organize music programs. This was a time full of surprises. Judy had been married to Roy Church for 27 years, but unfortunately, the marriage ended in divorce.  They had very little contact for 40 years. But life has its funny turns. After Judy moved to Laurel Lodge due to dementia, Roy moved there three years later due to his struggles with Alzheimer’s. The sweet love story begins there. Without knowing each other's names, they fell in love again. The family loved seeing this love rekindled. ‘You are My Sunshine” was their favorite song and it was a joy to see them interact with such love and kindness. 

The family wants to thank the caregivers at Laurel Lodge for the care and love they gave to Judy, “Mama”.  They allowed her to age with beauty and grace and words can never convey our deepest gratitude to them. 

The world is a different place because of what Judy did. The world is a better place because of who she was.

The Celebration of Life service to honor the life of Judy Church will be held on Friday, March 7, 2025. Her legacy of love, learning, and faith will continue to inspire all who knew her.