Judy Schwartz

Judy Schwartz is an amazing woman that I had the pleasure of meeting. Judy was born in Detroit in 1946. She grew up as a small jewish girl living in an apartment with her parents and two siblings. They later moved into a two story house. Her parents, siblings, and she resided in the first floor, while her grandparents resided in the basement. She was like most girls her age. She went to school everyday, attended parties, shopped at the mall with her friends, had many boyfriends, and had a celebrity crush. While growing up, her celebrity crush was Frankie Avalon. She believed his singing was unforgettable and all of his songs were meaningful. Frankie helped her find the meaning of life.

Judy had her first job when she was sixteen years old wrapping presents during the holiday season. When she reached the age of eighteen, she was a clothing sales representative at many stores. Many other important jobs Judy had Included being a medical assistant, book/magazine publisher, real estate agent, and a pharmaceutical representative.

While on vacation at Lake Michigan, Judy bumped into one of her past boyfriends. She immediately knew he was the one for her and she was not about to let him get away again. Their relationship was serious from that day forward. They were married a few years later and had two children. At the age of forty-six, her beloved husband passed away. She said, “losing my husband was the worst and biggest struggle to overcome”. She had lost her soul mate, best friend, and the person she spent her fondest memories with. Until this day, she remembers the wedding as being her fondest memory of all time.

During the holiday season, she got her two children goldfish. That evening they went out and when they came back home there was a shocking surprise. Her daughter discovered that one fish had died. When her son walked in, her daughter said to him “too bad Michael, yours is dead”. She couldn’t stop laughing after she shared that particular story with me. I couldn’t control my laughter either because I presume my siblings would have done the same thing to me.

She had always wished to go back to school, but has never had the courage to. It is with that thought that she encourages young people today to stay in school. She believes it is important for children today to get a good education because it cannot hurt you, but only help you.

I enjoyed spending time with Joy and am grateful for the time she spent with me sharing the precious stories of her life. I learned many things about her and she has helped aspire me to enjoy life as much as possible. She has lived a very full life and I plan on doing the same. I hope that when I reach her maturity that I too can share my life’s story with a young girl helping her learn about the joy of life like Judy had done for me. Thank you Judy!