Judith Ann Music

October 1, 1948 - Feruary 1, 2020

Judith Ann Music, age 71, died on February 1, 2020 at her home in White River Junction, almost eight years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She spent her final days surrounded by her loving family, including her husband of 45 years, John Vogel, her children, and her grandchildren.
Judy was a brilliant woman with limitless intellectual curiosity. After graduating from Duke University, she earned a Masters Degree in Library Science at the University of North Carolina and a Masters Degree in English from the University of Virginia. She began her career as a research librarian which perfectly suited her quick and curious mind. Her career changed when she moved to Boston and became a childrens librarian at the library in Jamaica Plain. It turned out to be an even more demanding job exemplified by requests from her young clients demanding she find "the blue book with a truck on the cover that her older brother had loved".

After her two children were born, Judy embarked on a new career as an acupuncturist and herbal medicine practitioner. She attended the New England School of Acupuncture where she received a Masters Degree in Acupuncture and completed advanced studies in Herbal Medicine. One of the highlights of her practice was working at the AIDS Care Project in Boston. It was early in the AIDs epidemic and she was able to help patients with neuropathy and pain management along with gentle, loving care.

When she moved to the Upper Valley in 2001, Judy set up an acupuncture practice in Norwich and also volunteered at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic. In her practice, she helped people dealing with pain and disease, infertility, and helping turn babies in utero to avoid a breach birth. She joined the board of the Good Neighbor Health Clinic and Red Logan Dental Clinic where she soon became the chairperson and helped it transition and grow.

Many obituaries describe the deceased as the perfect wife and mother. In this case it is true and we have documentary proof in the cards from her children calling her "the best mother ever." She was wonderfully patient and creative. After several rainy days, she would dress her children in rain suits and take them on duck walks. As cancer decreased her mobility, she could entertain her grandchildren on long car rides using her cane as a prop in creating stories and adventures.
A fanatic gardener, Judy was never happier than digging in the soil and creating beautiful gardens. She was an avid reader whose taste ranged from Anglo Saxon literature to mystery novels. To her friends, she was a loving companion noted for her wisdom and wonderful sense of humor. Judy was a proud feminist, advocate, and supporter of many social and environmental justice causes, a highlight being her 2004 trip to Washington D.C. with her daughter as part of the March for Womens Lives.

Judy was born October 1, 1948 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is survived by her husband John Vogel, her son Daniel Music Vogel (daughter-in-law Tessa Heller Vogel), her daughter Diana Vogel Arnell (son-in-law Bobby Arnell), her three grandchildren Elliott Vogel, Lydia Vogel, and Ruth Arnell, brothers Harry Barnes (sister-in-law Nancy Barnes) and Scott Barnes, beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and Johns siblings and their families, all of whom she loved dearly.
As she requested, she will have a green burial at Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier. After the funeral the family will engage in a modified version of Sitting Shiva at Judys home in Wilder.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Good Neighbor Health Clinic, or spend additional time in a garden thinking of her.