The first name on the birth certificate said “Barbara,” but her parents, Ida and Robert Blaisdell, always called her “Judy,” which made for an interesting beginning. Born and raised near San Francisco, California, Judy studied theater arts in college, and later found her way to New York City, where she enjoyed a career as a flight attendant and made weekly trips to Europe and beyond. She continued pursuing her interest in theater through acting classes at HB Studios, where she met her husband, Gil. Judy was a member of SAG-AFTRA and appeared in a number of television commercials and soap operas.
After living in New York City, Judy and Gil went to experience Paris for six months – repeating the line “We will always have Paris!” for the next 45 years after they relocated to Albany to raise their family. Judy’s artistic side continued to bloom through her drawing, watercolor painting, and acting in local theater productions. She later developed an interest in writing, and participated in several writing groups where she developed her memoir, fiction, and poetry manuscripts and formed a cherished bond with her fellow writers and their work.
Judy and Gil greatly enjoyed their friendship with neighbors and treasured the familiarity of community spaces, including Judy’s special backyard garden in which she labored many happy hours nurturing plants and flowers.
Celebrating 49 years of marriage, Gil feels he has been privileged to know so well a truly good person- his wife and best friend, Judy.