Obituary of Barbara Turner Judy

Barbara Turner Judy, 82, daughter of the late Mary Margaret Turner (Arnett) of Morgantown, departed from this life November 6, 2014 with loving family at her side, thus ending a courageous four year battle with ovarian cancer. Barbara was born on April 6, 1932 in Morgantown, WV (Sugar Grove Community) where she regularly attended church and learned of the hardships of being the eldest of five siblings and assisting in their care while running a farm with her then single mother. After graduating from Morgantown High School in 1950 she moved to Philadelphia, PA to begin her higher education pursuits. After completion of a three year nursing program from Temple University, where she received the Dr. John Royal Moore award as the outstanding student nurse in Orthopedics, she returned to Morgantown to begin her career as a pediatric nurse at West Virginia University Hospital where she remained for sixteen years. During this time she met and married her husband, Theodore M. Judy in 1958 and began raising a family of four children. She dedicated several weeks of her summers from 1974-1984 to Camp Kno-Koma alongside Dr. Eugene Klingberg, providing children with diabetes the learning tools to manage their diabetes independently while developing healthier eating and living habits and building lifetime friendships they would not otherwise have had the opportunity to do. In 1978 she began her Master’s degree in Counseling and Guidance at West Virginia University College of Human Resources and Education. Alongside her husband, Theodore, who suffered the effects of polio at an early age, she too developed a disability due to reaction to a medication she received during a brief illness. This disability did not slow her down; it was a driving force to her greatest endeavor and became her lifetime legacy of assisting persons with disabilities to achieve independence in all aspects of their lives. She was an Americans with Disability Act Coordinator (ADA) for West Virginia University (WVU) and the state of West Virginia, and served as the chair of the Board of National Associations of ADA Coordinators. She was a driving force in the widely acclaimed Job Accommodation Network (JAN) for over twenty years beginning in 1983. She was elected to the Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities in 1992. She made presentations about disability issues throughout the United States and Canada, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia in 1986, and most recently in Guam of 2014, and represented the United States in the former Soviet Union in 1990. She was a member of the President’s Committee on Employment of Persons with Disabilities and served as a chairperson of their Work Environment and Technology Committee. She further served as chairperson of WVU’s Council on Disability Concerns and was a member of the WVU Social Justice Council representing disability issues. She chaired the Policy and Service Committee of Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America. She served as the director of Pacetec alongside Mike Oliverio, Sr. and Vic Zanotti, and was responsible for the development of their newest facility at Mylan Park. From 1993 to the present, she served as President of the National Association of American’s with Disabilities Act Coordinators (NAADAC), an organization that she gave her entire heart and soul to. From 1994 to the present, she also served on the Advisory Board for HealthSouth Mountainview Rehabilitation Hospital. She was appointed to West Virginia State Rehab Council from 1983-2007. Mrs. Judy was one of the leading authorities on reasonable accommodations in the world, as well as one of the most imminent and influential university ADA coordinators in the United States. She was also appointed Patriot from West Virginia by the President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Diabilities. Her publications include “Real-Life Issues in Job Accommodation (Employers’ and Employees’ Perspective” 1994, “Job Accommodation in the Workplace” 1989, and “The ADA Coordinator Guide to Campus Compliance 2004. Barbara is survived by her daughter, Susan L. Judy and grandchildren Lee Anthony and Natasha Dawn Nickles of Morgantown; and sons, Lee M. Judy and wife Wendy and grandchildren Madalyn Leigh of Morgantown, and Phillip R. Judy and wife Jennifer of California. She is also survived by her brothers, Kenneth R. Turner and wife Helen of Kingwood, TX, Robert Turner and wife Jackie of Sevierville, TN, and Reverend Gene David Turner and wife Betty of Morgantown. She is also survived by one sister, Helen Gross of Ohio. She is preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Theodore M. Judy in 2010 and one son, Bryson Gregory Judy in 1973. Family and friends will be received at Hastings Funeral Home on Monday, November 10, 2014 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, Mrs. Judy will be moved to the West Virginia University Erickson Alumni Center, Ruby Grand Hall Ballroom, where she will lay in repose from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the time of the service, with the Reverend Gene David Turner officiating. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Barbara Judy’s life. Following the funeral service, Barbara’s wishes for cremation will be honored by her family, and she will be laid to rest at a later date privately in the Arnettesville Cemetery next to her beloved husband. In lieu of flowers, it is respectfully requested that contributions be sent 322 Baldwin St., Morgantown, WV 26505, to be used for a scholarship that will be formed in memory of Barbara and Theodore Judy. Condolences: hastingsfuneralhome.com.