Judith Elizabeth Cox passed away on July 25, 2019, surrounded by her family at 83 years young. She was born Dec. 19, 1935, in Los Angeles to the late Robert and Margaret (Faris) Carmichael.
Judy was a flight attendant for Western Airlines in 1962 when she met her husband at a party on the Fourth of July in Los Angeles. It was love at first sight. Less than a year later they were married and began their exciting journey together starting out in Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States Air Force. The next tour was in Honolulu, Hawaii, and in 1969 they settled in San Diego, California, where Jim began his airline career. Judy devoted herself to creating a wonderful life for her husband and children and she was remarkable. Judy and Jim enjoyed tennis and sailing in Southern California, the San Juan Islands and the British Virgin Islands. They retired in 1999 and moved to Friday Harbor, Washington, where Judy enjoyed the beauty, the tranquility and the wildlife. She was a frequent volunteer in the community and loved the wonderful friends they met on the island. Eventually, both daughters moved to Friday Harbor.
Judy was a loving, generous, patriotic and spiritual lady with an infectious smile and laugh and was loved immensely. She made beautiful stained-glass windows for their home, beaded beautiful jewelry and sewed her famous “deck coats” which many friends enjoyed wearing after the sun went down. She delighted in entertaining family and friends and hosted frequent dinner parties, right up until a few weeks before she passed. Judy lived a beautiful life. She loved her family, her friends, her pets and her country. She will be missed immeasurably. Judy’s legacy will be carried on by her husband and daughters and those whose lives she influenced in countless ways.
Judy is survived by Jim, her husband of 56 years, her daughters, Kathy Cox and Kim Cox both of Friday Harbor, her brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Kathy Carmichael of Couer d’Alene, Idaho, (formerly of Orcas Island); her sister Mary-Anne Reed of Ventura, California, and her sister and brother-in-law Mary Charles and Larry McNeil of Lynchburg, Virginia. She is also survived by her nieces Keely Kelley of Fallbrook, California and Karen Carmichael of Alpharetta, Georgia, as well as their children, Ian, Evan and Claire.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Presbyterian Church on Spring Street in Friday Harbor on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019 at 1 p.m. A reception will follow at the Church. To share memories of Judy please sign the online guestbook at http://www.evanschapel.com/.
