Sunday, October 17, 2021
Uncle John, Maureen, Sharon, Jay:
The year was 1987 and I was in Binns Hall at a friends dorm room on the campus of California University of PA, just two doors down from my dorm room and I hear my roommate, Tom Bayer yell out: "Hey, Holtzy you got a package, a metal container from an Aunt Judy." So up I go to see what it could be as packages were rare to the dorm room. I open the package and to my pleasant surprise Chocolate Chip Cookies packaged wth love to stay fresh and they were amazing. I had a close group of friend at Binns (Harvard on the Mon) as we referred to it back then, and many of these friends I still keep in touch with today. One of them said, "Damn, that Aunt Judy can cook!"
That was the start of several gestures from Aunt Judy through the years, there were more cookies to follow, notes of support and advice, graduation party from Cal U, a welcome home party back to Pittsburgh from Maine, years of advice about mass arrangements at our annual family reunion, arranging (priceless) trips to St. Vincent to see Fr. Vernon and during that period trips to see Uncle Al, and most recently help with Dad's Celebration of Life Pamphlet for his funeral mass. Seamless gestures of love that always came at the right time. Talk about a quiet angel that just knew when and how to lend support.
Aunt Judy a quiet patriarc for our entire family, a true Giant that, in our eyes, was called home too soon. My heart goes out to Uncle John, Maureen, Sharon, Jay and family for a soul that will be missed until we all meet again. God Bless you all and God Bless Aunt Judy.
