Judith A. Schmitt

The earthly pilgrimage of Judy Schmitt came to an end on July 11.

The daughter of Paul and Delores Williams, she was a gifted student who graduated at the top of her class from West Scranton High School in 1961.

She was vivacious, pretty, and possessed an infectious personality.

A bit of a rebel, she went to Penn State University, dyed her hair platinum, became the sweetheart of Phi Kappa Tau, and graduated with a B. A. in Journalism.

Degree in hand, she moved to New York City, where she worked for leading publishing companies, and was asked to pose for Playboy Magazine (an offer she declined).

In 1969, she married Paul Schmitt and settled in Denver, where she gave birth to her son Peter.

Due to the economic recession of the Nixon era and her mother's failing health, Judy returned to Scranton, where she found it impossible to land a full-time job. In order to make ends meet, she mowed lawns, shopped for shut-ins, and served as a substitute teacher.

In 1986, thanks her exemplary skills and the influence of friends, she obtained a full-time position with the Scranton School District, where she taught for twenty-five years and touched hundreds of young lives.

In 1976, she experienced a religious conversion, joined a Pentecostal church, and came to serve as senior pastor at Puritan Congregational Church (now Radical Faith Fellowship) in North Scranton.

No tribute to Judy would be complete without mention of her boundless generosity.

Judy returned all of her salary as a pastor to the church, along with a lion's share of her earnings as a teacher. She provided cash and outpourings of gifts to all in need, and contributed to a seemingly endless number of charities. She left this earth with scant savings.

No one loved with greater selflessness.

The world is a far darker place at her passing.