Judith Lee Whitney

Judith Lee Whitney passed away on September 14 after a long illness. Judy was born in Dorset, Vermont on May 2, 1924, the daughter of Huntington and Lepha (Kerr) Gilbert. She was a 1941 graduate of Burr and Burton Seminary in Manchester, Vermont, where she boarded during the week and went home to Dorset on weekends to help in her family's poultry business. She attended the University of Vermont, and, many years later, completed her BA at Arizona State University, where she also earned an MA in English. Judy taught French and English at South Mountain High School in Phoenix for 24 years, retiring in 1986. Upon retirement she remained involved in education, teaching underprivileged children in an ESL program. She also mentored a group of troubled young women through a journaling program. Judy had a way with words and loved to put pen to paper. Every year she enclosed a new poem with the Christmas cards she sent out to family and friends. She took great pride in the awards she won for her poetry. Music was another lifelong source of pleasure, and in retirement Judy was able to share that pleasure with others by joining the Senior Songbirds of Tempe. She joked that they were a group of seniors singing to old folks. Judy was also an avid birdwatcher, enjoying the variety of songs and species in her back yard. She was very attached to her home and neighborhood in Tempe, where she raised her three children and more than a few kittens and cats. Forty-two years ago she met and married a fellow Vermonter, Grant Whitney, the love of her life. The two were inseparable. She is survived by her loving husband, her son Geoffrey Gilbert and his wife Martha, of Geneva, New York; her daughter Andrea Ellis and her husband Keith, of Dorset, Vermont; her daughter-in-law Catherine Ishie, seven grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son Thomas Gilbert. There will be a celebration of Judy's life on Friday October 7, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. at Resthaven/Carr-Tenney Mortuary & Memorial Gardens, 4310 E. Southern Ave, Phoenix, 85042; 602-437-0436. Burial will be at the convenience of the family in Maple Hill Cemetery, Dorset Vermont. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your local Humane Society. Arrangements under the direction of Resthaven / Carr-Tenney Mortuary & Memorial Gardens, Phoenix, AZ.