Judith Kay Gates

Judith (Judy) Kay Gates, age 73, of Longmont, CO was born November 14th, 1942, in Buchanan, MI, to James J. and Katherine E. (Mosier) Liska.Judy leaves behind her loving husband of 53 years, James (Jim) M. Gates; son James Jr. (Kristin), of CO; daughter Janice Olson of NV; two grandchildren, Ashley Olson and Dalton Olson of AZ; and her two brothers, Michael Liska and Paul Liska of AZ.Judy was raised in Buchanan, MI, and graduated from Buchanan (MI) High School in 1960. Judy subsequently met her future husband, Jim, at Western Michigan University. After Jim was drafted into military service in 1962, they married in Buchanan, MI, on January 26, 1963, and set up their new home in Mt. Clemens, MI.After Jim was released from active duty in the U.S. Air Force in 1966, they relocated to Tucson, AZ to be close to Judy's parents, and started their own family with Jim Jr. (1967) and Janice (1969). Judy was a stay-at-home mother until the children began school, at which time she began volunteering in their classrooms as an assistant teacher aide, which led to her lifelong interest in elementary education. She went on to earn Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Education from the University of Arizona, while continuing to work full time and raising the family.Judy taught school in the Tucson Unified School District until 1988, when Jim was transferred to Colorado with IBM. She then obtained a teaching position with St. Vrain Valley Schools after working as a substitute teacher in several local school districts. She retired in 2006 after 26 years of teaching elementary education. Judy was considered a Master Teacher by most of her school administrators.Her many interests included spending time with her family, traveling, reading, needlework, gardening, camping and watching the Denver Broncos. She traveled to almost all 50 states, Canada, Mexico and Europe with her family.Two weeks after Judy and Jim celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Tybee Island, GA with their family, she was stricken with acute renal failure. Further analysis showed the reason was advanced peritoneal cancer, for which there is no known cure. She fought the disease bravely for two and a half years via intense chemotherapy and surgery. After exhausting every possible chemotherapy treatment for her disease, she relented and determined to live out the rest of her life without further treatment. She finally lost the battle with the disease a little more than a month later. She passed away quietly, surrounded by her loving family at 5:47 PM on February 10, 2016.Judy was a member of Faith Community Lutheran Church in Longmont, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 32, Bible Study Fellowship, her BUNCO group and the Wine, Women and the Word Bible study group.Visitation for family and friends will be held at 1:00 PM at Faith Community Lutheran Church in Longmont on Tuesday, February 16, 2016. This will be one hour prior to the memorial service celebrating her life, loves, and teaching career, which will be held at the same location at 2:00 PM. A reception will follow in the church Fellowship Hall. Interment in Ft. Logan National Cemetery, Denver, CO.Judy and her family's wishes are that donations in remembrance of her life be made to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in lieu of flowers or gifts. Contributions can be sent in care of Ahlberg Funeral Chapel.The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the nurses and staff in the Oncology Department at Kaiser Permanente Rock Creek in Lafayette, CO, and the staff of TRU Community Care in Louisville, CO, for their compassionate and loving care and treatment during a very difficult time.Visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com to share condolences.