A Tribute To A Special Person
"For those of you that knew her, you were one of the lucky ones"
Written by: Debbie Smith, Carefree Voyages by Dream Vacations
The first time I sat near Judy Cook at a ProAlliance meeting about two and a half years ago, I immediately noticed her big smile and how much she loved to laugh. I remember thinking, “I am going to really enjoy seeing this woman every Wednesday morning!”
It didn’t take long for many of the other “regulars” at ProAlliance to form a meaningful connection with Judy because you just couldn’t help but enjoy her company. Most of us didn’t know it back then, but Judy didn’t have any family except for one brother who passed away nearly two years ago. As a result, Judy viewed her close friends, her workmates, and all of us at ProAlliance as her family. How lucky we were!
Judy worked for Skyline Property Group and really LOVED her job. She was responsible for gaining new clients which kept her quite busy. She was diagnosed with lung cancer nearly two years ago, and had to have parts of both lungs removed as treatment. I was amazed at how quickly she returned to work and to networking. I could tell she got winded a lot more easily, but her makeup, hair, and gorgeous outfits would often belie how tired she felt a good deal of the time. She LOVED coming to ProAlliance!
In addition to traveling around the world, Judy climbed mountains, rode a Harley all over the country for many years, participated in and was a member of the Paris Dancers (a variety show here in Atlanta), was involved with Rotary, and even won the title of Miss Senior Kentucky a few years back. As a lover of the outdoors, she bought an inflatable kayak earlier this year and loved to go out on the river for a ride. According to close friends, she was always ready to do something new. She adored all animals, but especially loved cats and often rescued homeless or abandoned cats.
Judy’s cancer never came back, but she continued to face painful issues from only having partial lungs. Fluid would build up, and she would have to get it drained, or air pockets formed and she would have to deal with that. But she didn’t complain---ever. At the end of July, the pain became unbearable and she went to the hospital to see if they could remedy whatever was causing the pain. She told me that they thought a fungus or something was hanging around her lungs, so the doctors decided they would take her into surgery and attempt to “clean out” whatever was causing the problem. She came through the surgery fine and even called Lisa Brooks (a fellow ProAlliance member who works with Sheffield Office Products) after her surgery to tell her it went well and she was looking forward to gaining strength and going home. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it out of the ICU and ended up passing away on Sunday 8/9/20.
The outpouring of love for her from her friends, work mates, and acquaintances was
outstanding. People talked about how she was “an inspiration to everyone she met and that her strength and spirit forever spoke of a woman filled with determination and genuine joy. Whatever she thought up, she did. Nothing held her back, not even lung cancer.”
Another friend said, “Her heart was the purest of gold, her light twinkled bright and with grace, and her love for others was apparent in everything she did. Even in the end, she was joyous and had others in her thoughts, helping where she could. For those who knew her, you were one of the lucky ones.”
The owner of Skyline Property Group, DD Zhou Lee, organized a beautiful memorial service for Judy and had this to say, “She was a strong, powerful role model, incredibly beautiful, funny, eternally positive with a gorgeous spirit that was infectious". If you knew her you know those words still don’t describe the beauty, grace, and class she had. If you didn’t know her at any time during this life, I’m sorry and I wish you had the chance to know her. She wanted to travel the world, so she did. She wanted a Harley so she got one. She wanted to join our Skyline family and we brought her in with arms wide open. She wanted to get to know everyone she met, so she did. She wanted to continue to give to those around her, so she joined Rotary and gave herself. She wanted to fight and beat lung cancer, and she kicked its ass. She never met someone who didn’t fall in love with her. She will be missed.”
In closing it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are several pictures of this wonderful woman for us to remember her by:
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