Judy was born to parents Joseph and Virginia Minke on January 4, 1937 in Cumberland, MD.
She grew up as the eldest of five and attended Ursuline Academy where, at 6’-3”, Judy was the star forward of the basketball team scoring more than 40 points in multiple games. After graduating from high school at 17, Judy moved to Washington, D.C. to take a file clerk position with the FBI at the request of J. Edgar Hoover.
In Washington Judy met and married Louis B. Krebs, and together they raised four children, Paul the oldest, twins Mitch and Robert (Bob) and baby girl Angela. Judy and Lou were married 20 years before they went their separate ways, and Judy started her career in the car business. Judy served as the business manager in multiple car dealerships in Maryland including County Chrysler Plymouth, VOB Datsun, and VOB BMW. During this period Judy met and married her second husband, Edward W. Peifer, and they spent more than 30 years together before Ed’s death in 2012.
Judy and Ed loved to travel; over their years together they visited Germany, Great Britain, the USSR, Peru, Cancun, and parts of the Caribbean including their favorite – Virgin Gorda. Towards the end of the 1980s they expanded their adventures by retiring to St. Simons Island where Judy spent many happy years working at the tennis shop at Sea Island. They made a brief move to Asheville, NC where they were very active in the North Carolina Arboretum, and then over to Ed’s last retreat in Hartfield, VA. Judy became a Life Master bridge player, and remained active in the local bridge league in the Hartfield area for more than 15 years. She played to win, particularly with her best friend, Virginia Adair.
After Ed passed in 2012, Judy spent five content years in a townhome in Kilmarnock, VA, continuing to play bridge, and volunteering at the local library and the Rappahannock Art League. Judy loved to do things for her friends and family and was there for her sister Jodie who battled cancer for many years.
When Judy’s own health began to deteriorate in 2017, she took to the road once again and moved to Syracuse, NY to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Ange and Ralph Orlandella. Although she hated living above the Mason-Dixon line due to the cold (a fact she mentioned more than a few times), she loved being with family, and always welcomed new adventures such as boating on the lakes of Upstate New York, exploring museums and gardens, and trying new restaurants. Her favorite activities were Trivia Night at Smokey Bones where she loved to test her knowledge and memory with friends and family, and playing cards with family at home.
In May 2020, Judy happily relocated with Ange and Ralph to her final adventure in Melbourne, FL. Although medical and mobility challenges continued to progress, she enjoyed the warmth of the sun, and meeting new people with whom to share old stories. In early July, Judy moved into the Victoria Landing Assisted Living Facility in Melbourne, where she immediately made new friends and settled into games and activities that she loved. The staff at Victoria Landing were wonderful, and Judy quickly became a favorite. She had more than her share of challenges and was only able to spend a short time with her new friends. Thursday evening Judy played her last game of Oh Hell…the next day, on her way to dinner, she passed away.
Judy will always be remembered for her great love of beauty in nature, an amazing ability to remember music titles from classical to pop, and simply adapting to whatever her surroundings became. She was fanatically neat, but always made her home welcoming to all. Her greatest pride will always be her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren – she was forever sharing photos and stories on her beloved iPhone and iPad.
Judy is survived by her children Paul Krebs (Wendy), Mitchell Krebs (Barbara), Robert Krebs (Angel), Angela Orlandella (Ralph), stepson Mitchell Peifer and stepdaughter Diane Higgins (Calvin), grandchildren Amy, Katrina, Angela Colette, Natalie, Travis, Leo, Jake, Kasidy, Vanessa and Jenna, and great-grandchildren Harper, Stella and Emily, as well as her siblings Pan (Tony), Gary (Joy) and Dorothy, and a host of nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. She is predeceased by her husband Ed Peifer, stepson Frank Peifer, and sister Jodie Riley.
The family requests that those who wish to express sympathy consider making a donation to the National Wildlife Federation in Judy’s name.
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