Personal Story
During the Christmas – New Year period of 2007 Judy was engaged, happy, and involved with no indications of an illness. On February 27th, 2008, she experienced a fainting spell, an unnatural event for her, suggesting further examination which was promptly scheduled. On March 14th her left kidney was removed by an outstanding team of physicians at Mayo Clinic Florida, located in Jacksonville,  following a diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) which had spread to lymph nodes and to the aorta from the kidney. She undertook chemo therapy as quickly as medically feasible. On August 1st, she was readmitted to Mayo Clinic for surgery to remove an aggressive tumor that had destroyed one of the vertebrae in her spine which was replaced with a prosthesis.  The cancer had injured critical nerves in the spinal column and she experienced paralysis of her left leg in addition to the effects of the invasive cancer. Throughout this ordeal Judy maintained a positive, courageous outlook, and was an inspiration to her family and friends. Judy left us on October 11th, 2008 after fighting a valiant battle she could not win.

Judy had never been admitted to a hospital except to give birth to two children, and prior to the fainting spell had experienced no symptoms that would have led one to suspect she was ill.  

She was examined by physicians during December 2007 as a precautionary measure for another condition, and during that exam no reason was found to investigate further for an illness. Had a screening test of some type been available, such as the PSA test given men for prostate cancer, perhaps Judy would be with us today due to early detection of the cancer.  

Professional History
Judy loved her chosen profession, taking great personal satisfaction in assisting her clients, many of whom she befriended, buy or sell their homes. She also achieved the distinguished CRS designation. During the past 15 years as a sales professional she was always amongst the top ten of those agents with Watson Realty Corp with the highest annual volume of closed sales transactions, and in 1995 was the number one sales leader of over 300 sales men and women.

She was proud of her work, and thoroughly enjoyed the friendships of many at Watson. She thought of Janet Palmer and Bob Ransom as her mentors.

The Foundation is honored and proud of the huge role the men and women of Watson have made in the establishment of the organization, and of their key roles in the work of creating the upcoming first annual fund raiser to support research for early detection and prevention of kidney cancer, Art for the Cure.