Judith (Judie) Lee Elias Haynes, age 80, of Woodstock, Georgia, died peacefully in her sleep on November 10, 2018 in Roswell, Georgia.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Judie grew up in Mariemont, Ohio. She was a graduate of Mariemont High School and attended Oakland Community College. Growing up in the 1950s, she always viewed her hometown of Mariemont as the idyllic “Small Town USA”, and she went back to visit her family & friends there as often as possible.
Judie and her family resided in Royal Oak, Michigan from 1967 to 1979. During that time she found herself a witness to two historic events… In 1967 she was driving home from her corporate job when she was caught in the traffic standstill stemming from the infamous Detroit Race Riots. She watched in horror as the military tanks rolled past her car and down 8 Mile Road. In 1971 she served as “Juror #8” in the perjury trial of a notorious Detroit mobster, where she met famous defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. For years afterwards she often joked that she was on a first name basis with him and simply called him “F”.
Judie was very competitive by nature and enjoyed bowling and playing games of all kinds, especially card games. She liked canasta, gin rummy, pinochle, poker and RummiKub, as well as bingo. She loved the fast pace and bright lights of casinos and had an affinity for nickel slot machines. Her desire for “action” took her to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City, Biloxi & Tunica, Mississippi, and Cherokee, North Carolina -- all comped by Harrah’s. She also quietly admitted to her inner circle that she had the ability to count cards! In 2003 she attended Wayne Newton’s show at The Stardust Casino in Las Vegas. During his finale, he left the stage and went to her table to serenade her, then tried to give her a kiss… Judie rebuffed him, proclaiming him “too sweaty”.
Judie worked fulltime throughout her adult life and retired from her position as Legal Secretary at Solvay Pharmaceuticals in Marietta, Georgia in 2005. In 1982 she was the second employee ever hired at North Fulton Medical Center in Roswell, Georgia. Judie was a proud former President and Webmaster of the Cobb County Association of Legal Secretaries. Judie prided herself on being extremely organized and loved the camaraderie and teamwork necessary to achieve goals such as planning Solvay’s sponsorship of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, as well as preparing numerous new drug applications to the FDA. She volunteered her home to host the families of the Belgian athletes participating in the Olympic table-tennis games. She enjoyed getting to know the Belgian families and attended several Olympic events to watch the athletes compete.
Judie was an excellent cook and loved baking a wide variety of goodies for her friends and family. However, her “kryptonites” were cheese, mustard & Pepsi products and she went out of her way to avoid them, which became a running joke to all who her knew her.
Judie is preceded in death by her husband Allan Haynes, her parents Lee and June Elias, and her sisters Beverly Bankes and Marilyn Ashworth. Survivors include her beloved son Michael Haynes of Roswell (Shay); sister Yvonne Hodge of Mason, Ohio; brothers Charles Elias (Maureen) of Beavercreek, Ohio and David Elias of Cincinnati, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.
Special thanks to the staff of Brookdale Historic Roswell Assisted Living Home (now known as
Pegasus Historic Roswell Place) for their professional, caring and compassionate care of Judie. She often told them, “growing old is not for sissies”.
In lieu of flowers, a donation in Judie’s name to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Georgia Chapter or the charity of your choice would be appreciated.
Arrangements for a memorial service in Cincinnati/Mariemont, Ohio are pending.
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