Phyllis Mitchell Judge

Phyllis Mitchell Judge passed away peacefully on January 22, 2021. The Boston, Massachusetts native was born on August 9, 1930, and lived her early years in that city. She survived a serious car accident at age 9, and after that, moved with her family to the seaside town of Scituate, Massachusetts. There, she worked many nights at the Scituate Inn restaurant where she learned to speak with and charm people for the rest of her life. Later, she attended, and graduated from, Sergeant College, part of Boston University. Home life became more difficult when her mother died when Phyllis was a teenager. She decided to work for the U.S. Army and embarked as a GS-5 for Japan and the Korean War. She returned to America and began life as a schoolteacher, first on Cape Cod, then at Sherwood High School in Montgomery Country. She often described a happy life in a group house with other young women teachers in the 1950s. It was during this time that she met her future husband, Joseph Judge, a D.C. native. They were married in Scituate on February 4, 1956. Phyllis and Joe settled down to raise a family, which grew eventually to four children. In the 1960s Joe began a long career with National Geographic and Phyllis supported his work over many years. She greatly enjoyed the events associated with her husband’s work, and travel adventures with him, especially the multiple times they visited her ancestral home of Ireland. She enjoyed entertaining and settled into a rich circle of friends and neighbors in her long time home in Potomac, Maryland. She kept in contact with many people; and her family knew that not much time would pass without “a flash from Phil” over the telephone. She also believed in direct action when necessary, and could be heard dialing the White House or NIH with questions about the topics of the day, or illnesses. She lost her husband in 1996 but continued to live in Potomac for many years until she entered a memory care facility in 2015. Phyllis is survived by her children Joseph & Marianne Judge of Virginia Beach, Va.; Michael and Nancy Judge of Washington; Alyson Frederick of Crofton, MD and Mark Judge of Potomac, MD. Her grandchildren include Kathleen and Joseph Fairman of Virginia Beach Va; Mary Judge of Durham NC; Spencer Frederick of Crofton MD and Sam Frederick of Crofton MD. She was fortunate to meet her great-grandchild Molly Joan Fairman of Virginia Beach in 2018. Services will be arranged at a later date, but friends can post memories of Phyllis at www.dignitymemorial.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Father Byron House, care of Victory Housing, Inc., 11400 Rockville Pike, STE 505, Rockville, MD 20852.