Judith Wyman Furness

Judy Furness (Judith W.) 74, passed away recently on August 31, 2020 after a long battle with kidney disease and other major illnesses. Judy is known to the readers of the Granite State News for her op-ed pieces and letters to the editor in her efforts to find a transplant kidney donor, and her fight to adopt her dog in 2012, and recently her letter about the song "Shallow," (July 18, 2019). After moving to the Bluffs on Lake Ossipee in 2000 from Salem, Massachusetts, she worked for the former Caregivers of Wolfeboro in-home care (to be distinguished from the volunteer drivers organization), Center of Hope, and Sunbridge of Wolfeboro nursing home, now called Wolfeboro Bay. In 2010 she moved to the Ledges in Wolfeboro, where she enjoyed the surrounding woods with her cat and dog, and the nearby rail trail on bike or walking her dog, Pokey. She enjoyed the monthly jam sessions, as well as Ledges’ Bible studies and hymn sings. Always an aspiring writer, she won 3rd Place in the Adult Division at the Goodwin Library 14th Annual Poets’ Tea 2016 in Farmington for her poem "the Mute Swans." She had several short pieces published throughout her life. She attended both the First Baptist Church of Wolfeboro and St Katherine Drexel Church in Alton as a communicant. She was involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal for many years in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In her 20's she traveled to Europe with Christian Students Abroad, including a stay with a family in Norway, behind the then "Iron Curtain," and attendance at an International Fellowship of Evangelicals conference at Schloss Mittersill in Austria, making friends with the group from Poland. Judy enjoyed art work and handcrafts and may be remembered for her Madonna and Child pen and ink drawing and her crewel of Psalm 8:1 and "Jesus" art prints and cards. Judy was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, and attended grade school in North Providence while residing at St Mary's Episcopal Home for Children. She attended Chapel Hill School in Waltham, Mass. graduating in three years. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Master of Urban Affairs from Boston University where she created her own concentration in Gerontology with a course at the Boston University School of Nursing. She obtained a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver College of Law in 1979 where she was teaching assistant to two of her professors. She won an American Jurisprudence Award for Pre Trial Procedure. During law school she clerked and did legal research for Denver attorneys. As part of her clinical education she represented juveniles in court and appeared at juvenile hall hearings on behalf of the public defender's office. She also was a law library assistant. Judy had a private practice of law in Salem, Massachusetts for over a decade, requesting appointment to cases involving children. One of her reports as an Essex Probate Court Guardian Ad Litem former Judge Haskell Freedman described in chambers "a masterpiece." She won and two directed verdicts at District Court jury trials and a favorable ruling from at a Single Justice sitting of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. She was appointed as a Massachusetts Land Court Title Examiner and served as an Essex County Bar Advocate. Subsequently Judy obtained her nursing degree with honors from North Shore Community College in Danvers, Massachusetts where she won the Gelin Scholarship for her essay on Tay Sacks Disease. She practiced nursing in Massachusetts and later New Hampshire, primarily with the VNA of Greater Lynn/All Care VNA but also in chronic care and did some substitute school nursing. She was a camp nurse for children and special needs adults. Earlier she had served as activity director at two Massachusetts nursing homes, and as a nursing assistant and home health aide, mother's helper, factory worker, and other assorted jobs. She was a (mostly) vegetarian and an animal rights advocate, most strongly against animal factory farming methods. Above all she wishes to be remembered for her love of Jesus Christ. Her life scripture was Psalm 27:10, "Though my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up." A memorial mass will be 11:00 AM September 15, at St Katharine Dexel Church in Alton. The Baker-Gagne Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Wolfeboro is assisting the family with the arrangements. If you wish to express a condolence or leave a fond memory, please visit www.baker-gagnefuneralhomes.com