Judith Harrison - Monge, M.D.

Judith Arlene Peebles was born on August 11, 1939, in Wayne, Michigan to Chad Arthur Peebles and Arlene Lucretia Gilbert. She grew up with her younger brother Jon Lyman Peebles (“Jack”) in a beautiful house on Hess Lake in Newaygo, Michigan.

Judith graduated as Valedictorian of her Newaygo High School class of 1957 and was awarded a General Motors Scholarship to study engineering at Ferris Institute in Big Rapids, Michigan, where she won the chemistry achievement award for outstanding work in first-year chemistry. She then transferred to Michigan State University, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1961 from the Honors College with a double major of mathematics and chemistry and was elected to the Pi Mu Epsilon National Honorary Mathematics Fraternity. One of her female chemistry professors inspired her, unveiling chemistry as an exquisite science and revealing what grace professional women can have.

After graduation from college, Judith left behind the challenging weather of the Midwest for sunny California. She obtained a Master of Science degree in Bioradiology from the University of California, Berkeley while she worked in Donner Laboratory, the birthplace of nuclear medicine, under an Atomic Energy Commission Fellowship. There she met another inspirational mentor, Dr. Charles Anderson Sondhaus, who was the first to suggest medicine as a possible career choice. Charles and Judith remained close friends until his death in 2009.

At Charles’ urging, Judith enrolled in medical school at the University of California, San Francisco and completed her medical doctorate in 1967. During the summer breaks, she participated in clinical research programs in the cardiovascular laboratories, with interest in biophysical characteristics of muscle tissue, and was junior author on one article. The excellent combination of physics in medicine led her to consider radiation oncology as a residency and career choice.

While in medical school, Judith met and fell in love with her classmate, Lawrence Varion Harrison. The two were married on graduation day, June 10, 1967, and they started their internship together at Los Angeles County General Hospital, where Dr. Judith Harrison was one of only two female interns in 1967-68. Dr. Harrison started her residency at the University of California, Irvine with a clinical fellowship from the American Cancer Society and completed her residency with an award from the National Institute of Health. During this period, she published articles in pediatric radiation oncology that focused on Neuroblastoma and Wilms Tumor.

Although Dr. Harrison had grown accustomed to gender discrimination while breaking down barriers in STEM fields throughout her education and career, she faced her first experience with racial discrimination upon moving to Anaheim, California in 1970, when apartment managers refused to lease to a mixed racial couple, forcing Judith to rent an apartment in her own name alone while keeping her roommate and marriage a secret. Out of that controversial marriage came a son, Aaron Harrison, who was born on September 13, 1974, following a series of painful miscarriages. Although Judith and Lawrence divorced in 1979, they remained loving co-parents for their pride and joy, making sure Aaron had all of the necessary opportunities and felt the love of family.

After her residency, Dr. Harrison joined St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, where she eventually became the Director of Radiation Oncology (or as her staff knew her, “Big Judy”) for over 30 years. She continued to give back to UC Irvine as a Clinical Professor of Radiological Sciences in Radiation Oncology throughout her career.

In 1980, Dr. Harrison met the love of her life, Dennis Monge, and they were married on August 25, 1990. Dennis and Judy spent several years traveling, engaging in charitable pursuits, and enjoying each other’s company until Dennis’s untimely passing from cirrhosis on July 2, 1995.

Dr. Judith Harrison joined Dennis in eternal bliss on February 15, 2026. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Nadine Harrison, stepson Michael Monge and his wife Beth, stepson Matthew Monge and his wife Wendy, three grandchildren, Derek Harrison, Kalea Harrison and Jasmine Harrison, and step-grandson Collin Monge, as well as a host of relatives and friends.