[Spotlight Post] Judy Crider – In Memoriam
I’m going to round out this Thanksgiving Week with a sad note. As lovely as Thanksgiving was – we celebrated with family at our house (as has been the case since Jimmy and I were married) – it did end with some bad news – the passing of a friend. I’d like to tell you about her.
I started writing professionally about 2002, and started going to the regional conventions to promote those stories and meet more people. Some of the first people I met and who made me feel really and truly welcome in the Texas/Oklahoma Science Fiction community were the Lansdales (Joe and Karen) and the Criders (Bill and Judy).
Judy passed away on Thursday, November 27th about 11 am, according Bill Crider’s website. I didn’t find out until much later in the evening. It hit me quite hard. Judy came along with Bill to many conventions and was always pleasant, gracious, and kind to me and everyone I saw her come in contact with. She was also strong and funny. I knew she’d been battling cancer. She had her ups and down, but would still try to make some of the conventions – at least the local ones to them. I tried to ask about her if we didn’t see her. I was always glad to see her when she felt well enough to join us.
Joe Lansdale said lovely things about this beautiful woman on his Facebook page and it made me cry. Though, I’m glad she’s no long in pain. No longer has to battle her disease, even if it means the disease won – it was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Cancer sucks. My heart goes out to Bill. I can’t imagine what he’s going through today, but I know our community will rise up to support him along with his friends and family, because that’s what we do.
But for now, we say farewell to Judy Crider. You will be sorely missed.