Judith P. Struthers
March 30, 1947 – Nov. 1, 2007
Judith P. Struthers passed away at her home on Orcas, at the age of 60, on Nov. 1, 2007.
Judith was born on March 30, 1947, in Bozeman, Mont. After eight
years living in upstate New York, her family moved to San Rafael,
Calif., north of San Francisco, where she grew up. She
graduated near the top of a class of 500 from San Rafael High School.
After graduation from High School, she attended the University of
California, Berkeley, graduating in 1969 with a degree in
Anthropology, and as a Phi Beta Kappa and Regents Scholar.
After graduation from college, she took a secretarial course and
worked for a short time as an executive secretary with Carnation
Foods in San Francisco. She was then selected as a management intern
and began her career with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services in Washington, D.C.
In 1979, she was awarded a fellowship to work in the offices of the U.S. Congress, as a legislative
aide to Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut and to Congressman
Phillip Sharp of Indiana. Following her experience with
Congress, she was appointed to senior positions within the Health and
Human Services Department and and the Social Security Administration.
In the late 1980s, Judith pursued a second career in Environmental
Biology. In 1993, she was awarded a Master of Science degree in
Environmental Biology from George Mason University and applied her
scientific skills as an analyst with an international unit of the
Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Va.
She and her husband Jeff moved to Orcas Island in 1998. Judith then
joined the team of the locally based National Association of
Publishers, Retailers and Artists, where she continued to apply her
skills as a consummate reader and avid writer and editor. She later
joined the staff of the Orcas Theater and Community Center where she
was recognized by performers and patrons alike as a cheerful problem-
solver.
Judith retired in 2001, but remained active in support of local
choral organizations and charitable activities.
Judith was involved with music all her life, starting with piano
lessons at around age eight. She played piano for the San Rafael High
School orchestra and the Marin County Youth Orchestra. She spent one
high school summer at Sun Valley Music Camp in Idaho, and a college
summer at a music school in Salzburg, Austria.
On Orcas, she continued her love of music by joining the Orcas Choral
Society and the Orcas A Cappella Singers, traveling with those
organizations to perform in Scotland, Germany, and the Czech
Republic, and at Carnegie Hall here in the U.S.
She served as a volunteer for administrative matters for the Orcas Animal Protection Society and
was active with the Orcas Master Gardener organization and the AAUW.
Judith also continued her development of her creative writing. She wrote two
plays, “Close Enough for Government Work” and “Jenny’s Birthday,”
which were lovingly performed by the Orcas Actors’ Theater in their Ten-Minute Play Festivals.
Judith is survived by her husband of 23 years, Jeffrey; mother Lorene
Stranahan of Ft. Benton, Mont.; sisters Jeanne (Mrs. David McKevitt) of
Sheridan, Ore., and Carol (Mrs. Bob Blanchard) of Ft. Benton, Mont.;
Martha Delargy of Bethesda, Md.; and brother Mike of Auburn, Calif.
A funeral service for the family and invited guests will be held at
11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007 at the Emmanuel Episcopal
Church, Eastsound, Wash. A Memorial Celebration of her life will be
held later in the day, at 4 p.m., at the Orcas Center, Mt. Baker
Road, Eastsound, including choral music selections by both the Orcas
Choral Society and the Orcas A Cappella Singers. A gathering in the Madrona Room with light refreshments will follow. Guests are asked to bring hors d’oevres or other light refreshments. For information, contact Velma Doty at 376-6847. All are invited to
come and celebrate Judith’s life.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to any of
following organizations: Lahari Volunteers Hospice, PO Box 50, Deer
Harbor, WA 98243; Orcas A Cappella Singers C/O Dennis Bonner, PO
Box 1621, Eastsound, WA 98245; Orcas Choral Society. PO Box 47,
Eastsound, WA 98245, or the Orcas Animal Protection Society, PO Box
1484/84A Hope Lane, Eastsound, WA 98245.
