Barbara H. Judge, age 91, of Tinton Falls, died peacefully at home Oct. 5, 2023, after a brief battle with cancer.
Barbara is survived by her son Thomas B. Judge III of Shrewsbury and her daughters, Lauren Bartkus and her husband Brian of Bedford, Massachusetts, Linda Ferrogine and her husband Jim of Shrewsbury, and Dana Farabaugh and her husband Jay of Newtown, Connecticut. She is also survived by her beloved 10 grandchildren, Taylor, Anne, Brooke, Jimmy, Tommy, Kate, Casey, David, Jill and Nick, who lovingly called her Baba.
Born on Staten Island to Joseph and Evelyn née Johnson Holzka, Barbara grew up under the watchful eye of her wonderful big brother Joe Jr., who predeceased her. She attended P.S. 29 before boarding at the Northfield School for Girls (now Northfield Mt. Herman), a high school in Northfield, Massachusetts. She excelled academically, graduating from Pennsylvania State University at the age of 20. It was on Penn State’s Happy Valley campus that she met Thomas B. Judge Jr., who passed away in 2014. They wed in 1953 and settled in Little Silver to raise their family, making dear lifelong friends and many beautiful memories.
Once her children were out of the house and on their way, she returned to her early career in bookkeeping, first for Gloria Nilson Realtors in Monmouth County and then for the Women’s Exchange in Little Silver. She was a longtime congregant of the First Presbyterian Church at Tower Hill, where three of her children were married and several of her grandchildren were baptized.
Barbara was a very proud Norwegian, Penn State alum, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sister, and grandmother. She was devoted to her family – even in her final days, she was more concerned about how her children and grandchildren were doing than her own health challenges. She loved family trips to Disney World and Mohonk Mountain House. She loved Broadway musicals and New York City at Christmastime. She loved traveling, playing bridge and tennis, and reading mysteries (preferably British). She loved the New York Times crossword puzzle, which she completed every day in pen until just a few years ago. She loved to watch the Nittany Lions play football and cheer on her grandkids from the sidelines. She loved dark chocolate with almonds and always had a stash close by, just in case.
Most of all, she loved hanging out and laughing with her family at “Wonderland” on Long Beach Island and watching boats sail by at sunset. She will be sorely missed.
A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Barbara’s memory to the Friends of the Library Association of Little Silver, 484 Prospect Ave., Little Silver, NJ 07739 or littlesilverlibrary.org/friends-of-the-little-silver-library.
This article originally appeared in the October 19 – 25, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
