Judith "Judy" French

Judith “Judy” French passed away Friday, November 15, 2024. Judy was a force to be reckoned with, from her strong opinions and expansive knowledge to her assertive personality, she made her own way in the world and didn’t take guff from anyone. She attended Elizabethtown High School after living a nomadic lifestyle all over Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky in her youth due to her father’s career field. She lived in 47 houses in her lifetime with most of the moves occurring before she was 14.

Judy left Kentucky for Arizona where she attended the University of Arizona and met her first husband, Lyle Roberts, Sr. Lyle and Judy had two sons, Lyle, Jr. and Mark. Judy and Lyle, Sr. lived for a time San Diego where he was in the Navy and Judy held down the fort at home. After getting out of the Navy, Judy and Lyle, Sr. moved back to Arizona where he became a Tucson Police Officer. Eventually, they divorced, and a few years later Judy met and married her second husband Gail Page. Judy and Gail had a daughter Susan. They were married for 24 years before divorcing. In the early 90s, Judy rekindled a relationship with former high school classmate John French. They were married about a year later. They eventually moved back to Elizabethtown, Kentucky where they reconnected with old classmates, friends, and family. John was the love of Judy’s life. She never fully recovered from his passing in 2006.

Over her lifetime, Judy made her own way through jobs and careers always advancing herself and continuing to be a lifelong learner. When her boys were young, Judy worked in the back office of the College Shop. She then went on to be secretary at a small civil engineering firm where she worked her way up to surveyor, draftsman, and finally civil engineer.

By the late 1970s, Judy had acquired quite a selection of antiques from her cross-country adventures with her mother Dorothy MacGregor. She began selling her treasures at Antique Shows at locations across Arizona. After a few years, she partnered with a friend also named Judy and started the wildly popular and well-known Judy & Judy Antiques and Estate Sales. Their sales always had lines around the block and a following of regular shoppers.

By the late 80s, Judy had gone back to school to become a Paralegal. She worked on several large multidistrict civil litigation cases mostly related to water contamination. Her last paralegal position was with Arizona Child Support Services where she assisted parents collect the child support they were owed. After John passed, Judy volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Store in Elizabethtown. She was also known for her extensive work assisting in the planning and organization for E-Town High School’s reunions for the Class of ’56. She maintained friendships with many of her high school classmates and could be found dining out with many of them about town.

Judy’s crowning accomplishment was continuing and building on the genealogy research started by her mother Dorothy MacGregor. She self-published two books entitled. The first was “The Lines in My Face” detailing the McCall family tree and the second “Who is in my Genes?” which outlines the ancestry of the French family. The depth and breadth of her knowledge and accumulated resources garnered her frequent requests for information.

Judy will be remembered for her can-do attitude, self-reliance, and wealth of knowledge.

Judy is preceded in death by her husband John French, her father Wesley Cummins, her mother Dorothy MacGregor, her sister Allene Barbara Camp. She is survived by her sons Mark and Lyle Roberts and her daughter Susan Petersen. She has six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life is at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 at Brown Funeral Home in Elizabethtown.

Visitation begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

If you would like to make donations, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org ) or the Kentucky Genealogical Society (https://kygs.org/donate-to-kygs/).