Judy North

Judy North died peacefully on Thursday, September 10 after a long illness, surrounded by family. Judith Bernice Strunk was born on May 28, 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended the Beaumont School, a Catholic all-girls school in Cleveland Heights, and then went to college at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, where she met her future husband, James W. North at a Newman Center mixer.

Judy and Jim were married at Christ the King church in Cleveland on July 7, 1956. While Jim served in the military, Judy moved around the country with him, starting a family that came to include five daughters, born in Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Oklahoma. The family eventually settled in Merced in 1970 when Jim was stationed at Castle Air Force base in Atwater. In 1972, Judy became a Mary Kay Cosmetics beauty consultant, and soon rose to become a successful Director of Cosmetic sales. One of her favorite pastimes was attending the annual Mary Kay National Convention in Dallas. Judy was proud of her Irish, Scottish, and German heritage and enjoyed exploring her genealogy, tracing her family back hundreds of years.

She also served her community avidly over the years as a Lifetime Soroptimist, as well as a member of the Officers’ Wives Club, the Merced Chamber of Commerce, and the League of Women Voters.

Judy is survived by her beloved husband of nearly 60 years, Jim North; her daughters Becky (Alex) Garza, Vicky (Pete) Wainwright, Christy North, Bambi (Tony) Molino, and Monica (Jafar) Al-Amin; 16 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren; her brother, Stanley Strunk, her beloved cousin, Becky Orlowski, and countless other extended family.

A Catholic Mass will be said for Judy on Monday, September 14 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church on 671 E. Yosemite Ave. in Merced; reception immediately following at St. Patrick’s. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations either be made to Soroptimists, or any other charity in her name.