I got to know Judy under an unusual circumstance going out of Fremont Elementary. Judy and I were the winners in some sort of art competition (you who knew me in elementary school no doubt recall me as “that kid” who was socially pretty awkward and couldn’t compete in anything BUT art!) in sixth grade, and the prize was a summer art class at the home of an absolutely lovely woman whose name I believe to have been Elizabeth Quandt. Judy and I spent more than half that summer meeting a day or two a week and being taught to make a relief sculpture from cast concrete aggregate, a completely new and unique experience to us both at the time. Was it 1959? We worked in clay to form the shape of what was to be cast, copied the clay sculpture in reverse with plaster of Paris, then mixed and poured the concrete into that form, and fine tuned and filed the concrete as it was mostly set and still workable. Judy made a little swimming fish and I made a swimming turtle. Neither one of us was the type for the other to have normally socially mingled with in the usual context of school, but we got on like a house on fire doing art together that one Santa Rosa summer, and I’ll come out for the first time today to say I was left with a mighty twelve year old crush on that girl! I see the word “lady” being used to describe her in people’s memories of her, and it fits perfectly. She was a beautiful lady already at 12. My condolences to those close to her and R.I.P. to this lovely lady.
I am truly saddened to read about the recent death of Judy (Kellar) Fox. Despite the fact that I was very aware of Judy from 7th-grade through our high school years, I’m sad to say our paths never crossed socially nor personally during those years.
A short time before our 50-year reunion in 2015, Judy mentioned in her reunion profile that among her many other accomplishments, she was a Certified Genealogist. Over the preceding decades (and since), studying my family genealogy was/is a therapeutic passion for me. At the aforementioned reunion, I made a point of meeting and introducing myself, my wife, and my grandson to Judy. Judy was nothing less than welcoming and gracious to the three of us.
Over a few weeks following the reunion, Judy and I exchanged a few emails where she gave me a bit of advice and shared a few pointers in my family study.
As with so many of our other classmates, I truly regret that I did not personally know Judy for so many prior years.
I, too, am deeply affected by the passing of Judy Kellar Fox. We were classmates so many times throughout Junior and High School. As were many of you on this website, I am sure. She was a brilliant and dedicated student throughout. I had the added pleasure of attending UC Santa Barbara with her after high school. My Kathy once stayed with her in her apartment in Isla Vista when she came down to visit with me there. While we were at UCSB, I also became friends and housemates with fellow student, Larry Fox. This was before Judy and Larry knew each other. So our worlds collided in another way. Judy was a class act all the way. I was very glad we got to reconnect at our 50th reunion. I know I don't post on this website much, but this occasion is one that touches deeply. Very sad.
John Nattkemper
Judy Kellar was memorable for me, not only because she was a brilliant, beautiful and gracious person, but also because she was the most graceful and elegant dancer in a dance class we had together. I always thought of her as part of a more refined world, and I will always aspire to have the dignity that she had. She set the bar very high in that regard.
Ditto to all the above remarks of admiration, respect, and affection, especially Susan's "refinement" and "dignity." Her presence radiated realms of disarming and unapproachable intellectual sensitivity which sometimes made me uncomfortably conscious of my own relative.frivolous oafishness, A minor anecdote, from one of our classes with Arnold Solkov: Judy sat slightly ahead of me, in the next row, near the windows. While Arnold pontificated about symbolism, or scandalized everyone by declaring that something as mundane as classroom seating assignments, rather than, say, personal chemistry, is often responsible for romantic, or even marital relationships, Judy and I seemed simultaneously to become aware, apparently alone among our classmates, of our room vibrating, like maybe an earthquake. We gave each other a look and a shrug, and then realized that the shaking was coming from the other side of the room, from Jim Brendlin, who was bouncing his knee up and down, I'm gratified that we once shared a momentary insight, and a quiet chuckle. A dear one.
First, I have to thank my fellow classmates for the very touching and eloquent remembrances they have posted to this page. Jude was a rare, refined and fragile beauty, infecting all with whom she came in contact with her gentle grace, humor, endearing smile, and an often veiled but consummate erudition.
Ted Lindquist sent me a link to Judy's obituary in The Press Democrat, and I copy that below for those who might be interested.
Judy Kellar Fox
On February 15th, 2023, at an early hour, Judy Kellar Fox was released peacefully from a 13-year struggle with cancer at the age of 75. With her passing, the world lost an irreplaceable warmth and grace - a welcoming hand to all, a cherished friend of many, and the image of belonging on the ballroom floor.
Judy Kellar was born and raised in Santa Rosa, California, and had a deep love of the northern farmlands, wineries, and coast that surrounded her. Her parents, Jack, a co-owner of Santa Rosa Auto Parts, and Alice Kellar, the consummate home economist, were loving parents who imbued her with a down-to-earth work ethic and generosity that never changed.
Judy attended Santa Rosa High School, where her lifelong dedication to quality and discipline showed in her school life, her summer jobs at the county fair, and her early love of ballroom dance as a junior instructor. Following high school, she attended the University of California at Santa Barbara for her BA and MA, majoring in French and art history and graduating Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, which she was too humble ever to acknowledge. During parts of those years, she studied abroad in Bordeaux and Paris. It was in Bordeaux that she met a fellow UCSB student, Larry Fox, with whom she fell in love and later married in 1970.
Over the ensuing years, her life was first and foremost dedicated to family, of which she was the glue and the heart as a wife and, eventually, mother of two cherished sons. Over those years, they lived variously in Darrington, WA; Bordeaux, France; Berkeley, Silicon Valley, and Humacao, Puerto Rico, finally settling for 37 years in Aloha, Oregon, where for her long-deferred joy, Larry finally learned how to ballroom dance, a love they shared to the end.
While Judy’s first and unflagging priority was always family, her creativity and humanity led her to serve the community as a highly regarded crafter and coordinator of the boys’ elementary school art literacy program; and then, in the 90s, to immerse herself fully into her greatest passion— genealogy, serving on the Board of Certification for aspiring genealogists. Her prodigious work and research led to highly regarded publications and to the production of multiple histories of family that are a cherished legacy for generations.
Judy is survived by her husband, two sons and daughters-in-law, two beautiful grandchildren, her sister, her aunt, and a large muster of adoring cousins, nephews, and nieces.
Well Ed, had you known her, I'm SURE you would feel the same way that ALL those of us who did know her, which is that she was a VERY SPECIAL LADY ... even by the age of 18! One of my special memories is that she invited me to I believe it was a Halloween party when I was in about 8th or 9th grade. It was held mostly in her folk's garage ... all decorated of course ... and I remember bobbing for apples in a large tub. I was kind of a shy guy and not among the popular kids, so that invitation meant a LOT to me! Another memory I had was that I believe she took French in high school (I took the easier route ... Spanish), and I THOUGHT she had plans after college to go to the United Nations to become a language translator. I thought that was pretty cool (and even if my memory is wrong), that's the kind of respect I had for her! To be openly honest, I think there was a time that I had a crush on her as she was ALWAYS so sweet and pleasant. I'm sure she is in a better place now, but that doesn't quell the hurt for those left behind. May God BLESS you Judy and your family.
Rick Van Krugel
I got to know Judy under an unusual circumstance going out of Fremont Elementary. Judy and I were the winners in some sort of art competition (you who knew me in elementary school no doubt recall me as “that kid” who was socially pretty awkward and couldn’t compete in anything BUT art!) in sixth grade, and the prize was a summer art class at the home of an absolutely lovely woman whose name I believe to have been Elizabeth Quandt. Judy and I spent more than half that summer meeting a day or two a week and being taught to make a relief sculpture from cast concrete aggregate, a completely new and unique experience to us both at the time. Was it 1959? We worked in clay to form the shape of what was to be cast, copied the clay sculpture in reverse with plaster of Paris, then mixed and poured the concrete into that form, and fine tuned and filed the concrete as it was mostly set and still workable. Judy made a little swimming fish and I made a swimming turtle. Neither one of us was the type for the other to have normally socially mingled with in the usual context of school, but we got on like a house on fire doing art together that one Santa Rosa summer, and I’ll come out for the first time today to say I was left with a mighty twelve year old crush on that girl! I see the word “lady” being used to describe her in people’s memories of her, and it fits perfectly. She was a beautiful lady already at 12. My condolences to those close to her and R.I.P. to this lovely lady.
Mike Lindsay
I am truly saddened to read about the recent death of Judy (Kellar) Fox. Despite the fact that I was very aware of Judy from 7th-grade through our high school years, I’m sad to say our paths never crossed socially nor personally during those years.
A short time before our 50-year reunion in 2015, Judy mentioned in her reunion profile that among her many other accomplishments, she was a Certified Genealogist. Over the preceding decades (and since), studying my family genealogy was/is a therapeutic passion for me. At the aforementioned reunion, I made a point of meeting and introducing myself, my wife, and my grandson to Judy. Judy was nothing less than welcoming and gracious to the three of us.
Over a few weeks following the reunion, Judy and I exchanged a few emails where she gave me a bit of advice and shared a few pointers in my family study.
As with so many of our other classmates, I truly regret that I did not personally know Judy for so many prior years.
-MPL
John Nattkemper
I, too, am deeply affected by the passing of Judy Kellar Fox. We were classmates so many times throughout Junior and High School. As were many of you on this website, I am sure. She was a brilliant and dedicated student throughout. I had the added pleasure of attending UC Santa Barbara with her after high school. My Kathy once stayed with her in her apartment in Isla Vista when she came down to visit with me there. While we were at UCSB, I also became friends and housemates with fellow student, Larry Fox. This was before Judy and Larry knew each other. So our worlds collided in another way. Judy was a class act all the way. I was very glad we got to reconnect at our 50th reunion. I know I don't post on this website much, but this occasion is one that touches deeply. Very sad.
John Nattkemper
Susan Harbour
Judy Kellar was memorable for me, not only because she was a brilliant, beautiful and gracious person, but also because she was the most graceful and elegant dancer in a dance class we had together. I always thought of her as part of a more refined world, and I will always aspire to have the dignity that she had. She set the bar very high in that regard.
Susan Harbour 2/21/23
Tom McIntyre
Ditto to all the above remarks of admiration, respect, and affection, especially Susan's "refinement" and "dignity." Her presence radiated realms of disarming and unapproachable intellectual sensitivity which sometimes made me uncomfortably conscious of my own relative.frivolous oafishness, A minor anecdote, from one of our classes with Arnold Solkov: Judy sat slightly ahead of me, in the next row, near the windows. While Arnold pontificated about symbolism, or scandalized everyone by declaring that something as mundane as classroom seating assignments, rather than, say, personal chemistry, is often responsible for romantic, or even marital relationships, Judy and I seemed simultaneously to become aware, apparently alone among our classmates, of our room vibrating, like maybe an earthquake. We gave each other a look and a shrug, and then realized that the shaking was coming from the other side of the room, from Jim Brendlin, who was bouncing his knee up and down, I'm gratified that we once shared a momentary insight, and a quiet chuckle. A dear one.
Bob Huntington
First, I have to thank my fellow classmates for the very touching and eloquent remembrances they have posted to this page. Jude was a rare, refined and fragile beauty, infecting all with whom she came in contact with her gentle grace, humor, endearing smile, and an often veiled but consummate erudition.
Ted Lindquist sent me a link to Judy's obituary in The Press Democrat, and I copy that below for those who might be interested.
Judy Kellar Fox
On February 15th, 2023, at an early hour, Judy Kellar Fox was released peacefully from a 13-year struggle with cancer at the age of 75. With her passing, the world lost an irreplaceable warmth and grace - a welcoming hand to all, a cherished friend of many, and the image of belonging on the ballroom floor.
Judy Kellar was born and raised in Santa Rosa, California, and had a deep love of the northern farmlands, wineries, and coast that surrounded her. Her parents, Jack, a co-owner of Santa Rosa Auto Parts, and Alice Kellar, the consummate home economist, were loving parents who imbued her with a down-to-earth work ethic and generosity that never changed.
Judy attended Santa Rosa High School, where her lifelong dedication to quality and discipline showed in her school life, her summer jobs at the county fair, and her early love of ballroom dance as a junior instructor. Following high school, she attended the University of California at Santa Barbara for her BA and MA, majoring in French and art history and graduating Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, which she was too humble ever to acknowledge. During parts of those years, she studied abroad in Bordeaux and Paris. It was in Bordeaux that she met a fellow UCSB student, Larry Fox, with whom she fell in love and later married in 1970.
Over the ensuing years, her life was first and foremost dedicated to family, of which she was the glue and the heart as a wife and, eventually, mother of two cherished sons. Over those years, they lived variously in Darrington, WA; Bordeaux, France; Berkeley, Silicon Valley, and Humacao, Puerto Rico, finally settling for 37 years in Aloha, Oregon, where for her long-deferred joy, Larry finally learned how to ballroom dance, a love they shared to the end.
While Judy’s first and unflagging priority was always family, her creativity and humanity led her to serve the community as a highly regarded crafter and coordinator of the boys’ elementary school art literacy program; and then, in the 90s, to immerse herself fully into her greatest passion— genealogy, serving on the Board of Certification for aspiring genealogists. Her prodigious work and research led to highly regarded publications and to the production of multiple histories of family that are a cherished legacy for generations.
Judy is survived by her husband, two sons and daughters-in-law, two beautiful grandchildren, her sister, her aunt, and a large muster of adoring cousins, nephews, and nieces.
Mark Gilbert
Well Ed, had you known her, I'm SURE you would feel the same way that ALL those of us who did know her, which is that she was a VERY SPECIAL LADY ... even by the age of 18! One of my special memories is that she invited me to I believe it was a Halloween party when I was in about 8th or 9th grade. It was held mostly in her folk's garage ... all decorated of course ... and I remember bobbing for apples in a large tub. I was kind of a shy guy and not among the popular kids, so that invitation meant a LOT to me! Another memory I had was that I believe she took French in high school (I took the easier route ... Spanish), and I THOUGHT she had plans after college to go to the United Nations to become a language translator. I thought that was pretty cool (and even if my memory is wrong), that's the kind of respect I had for her! To be openly honest, I think there was a time that I had a crush on her as she was ALWAYS so sweet and pleasant. I'm sure she is in a better place now, but that doesn't quell the hurt for those left behind. May God BLESS you Judy and your family.