Cover photo for Judith Lee Elliott's Obituary
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1942 Judith 2023

Judith Lee Elliott

April 1, 1942 — December 22, 2023

New Albany

Judith Lee Elliott , known to everyone as Judie, passed away on December 22, 2023, at the age of 81 in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. She was born on April 1, 1942, in Minot, North Dakota. Judie was an elegant, witty, charming, and adventurous woman who lived a life full of joy and excitement.

Judie met her husband Jay in Flint Michigan where she was teaching retailing at Flint Junior College and he was teaching math at Longfellow Junior High. The birth of their son James was followed within a year by a move to Stockholm, Sweden, where daughter Kerstin was born after another year and a half.

Just as Judie was mastering the tricky language, the family moved to Bogor, Indonesia, and a whole new set of challenges, including setting up home schooling for the kids until a group of friends could pool resources and import some teachers from Australia to start the Bogor Expatriate School. After four years there, a move to Mexico City put the family much closer to the US and offered better options for schools and other resources, though Spanish was yet another language for everyone to learn. We have fond memories of the amazing parties Judie hosted at our homes, filled with warmth brought by the wonderful friends she made during her travels.

Her love of tennis was one of the ways she met people and stayed active and healthy for so long. Bridge games were another fun way to get to know people and work on strategy as a couple. It was too complicated and subtle for the kids to wrap our heads around though! But we were very much able to appreciate the beautiful piano music she regularly filled our homes with, ranging from ragtime to the Star Wars soundtrack, and this helped foster our own interest in music.

Moving back to the US after six and a half years in Mexico, the family settled in Hudson, Ohio for the kids to finish school and head off to college. Some of Judie’s friends from around the world ended up in the area, and others near the winter homes Judie and Jay established on Captiva and then Sanibel islands in Florida. Judie and Jay then moved to Aurora, Ohio where they lived until Judie's passing.

Judie is survived by her loving husband, Jay, and their children, James (partner, Chris Wieser), and Kerstin (husband, Scott Friedman), and grandchildren Will and Riley Mathews and Davis, Lena and Miles Friedman. She was preceded in death by her father, Evert Smith, her mother, Jessie (Sears), her sister, Carol Sue Caldwell, and her sister, Jill Smith.

A celebration of Judie's life will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2024 from 2 – 4 pm at the New Albany Country Club, One Club Lane, New Albany, OH, to give time for friends and family to plan travel and gather. In preparation for this special event, we kindly request that you share any great photos and stories you have of Judie. Your contributions will help us create a truly memorable tribute to her remarkable life. Please email those to James at james@deepsymmetry.org.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor Judie with a donation, please consider donating to the Sanibel Sea School or The Big Arts Sanibel Island non profit entities.

Services in care of The Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory, Fairlawn Chapel, 85 N Miller Road, Akron, OH  44333.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Judith Lee Elliott, please visit our flower store.

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