Judy Monday Anderson

Verdi - Judy was born on September 25, 1945, to Alice Elizabeth and Norborn Milden Monday in Oakland, California. She was the last of their six children and the only one born in The West. She grew up and attended schools in the Richmond Unified School District of Western Contra Costa County which included Nystrom and Grant Elementary, Downer Junior High, and Richmond Union High School. While still in high school, she worked part-time at Macy's and Mechanics Bank on McDonald Avenue, the "Main Drag" of what was then Richmond's thriving business district. After graduating high school in 1963, she enrolled in classes at Contra Costa College in nearby San Pablo. Also at that time, she applied for a job and was hired, at Cal Research, a part of the sprawling Standard Oil Refinery in Point Richmond. It was an entry-level job, but she loved it. She was responsible for delivering the mail within the company. Hard to believe now, but the job title was "Mail Girl." If she was offended by that title, she never mentioned it.

On August 5, 1965, she married Vernon Anderson. She had known him since fourth grade in Mrs. Mortensen's class, upstairs, next to the library at the old non-earthquake-proof Grant School. He'd had a couple of "dead-end" jobs delivering Chinese food and pumping gas. He also took classes at the local junior college. He was torn between being a cop, a cowboy, and a gambler. Most of what he thought he knew about these jobs came from movies and television. James Arness and Andy Griffith made it look easy, but he secretly feared he'd be more likely viewed as Barney Fife or Chester Goode. He had never really learned to "sit-a-horse," so "Cowboy" was probably out of the question. That left Gambler. In the spring of 1966, he saw an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle for dealers at Harrah's in Reno which said: "Will Train!" He drove to Reno, got hired, and was scheduled to start dealing- school the following Monday. Against the advice of her family, Judy would leave her job at Cal Research and follow him to Reno. When asked why, her answer was a simple one: "He makes me laugh." They were probably both too young, but when you're nineteen, that's almost, just about enough.

Judy got a job at Montgomery Wards downtown on Sierra Street, with old oak floors that squeaked when you walked on them. In a few months, a new Wards opened up and the old classic on Sierra Street closed. The new store was clean and modern, but way out on Oddie Boulevard and she did miss those squeaky floors. She had other jobs and was usually promoted quickly because she was honest, smart, and reliable.

She took the classes that interested her at UNR in History, Anthropology, and Creative Writing. Judy was an avid reader of Shakespeare, Dickens, and especially, Jane Austen. She read every one of her books. On three occasions she traveled to England, to see for herself, the places Austen had described and the conditions that existed there, during her life.

Judy is survived by her loving husband, Vernon Anderson, sister Jennette (Doug) Walther, Cara (Travis) Gill, Denise (Paul) Kommer, Jill (Raymond) Terry, Jeff (Dawn) Burdine, Lloyd (Renea) Burdine, Kellie Anderson-Kuhler (Steve), Darcy (Bob) Mathews, sister-in-law Patricia Asvitt, Jason Monday, Cory (Ryan) Bridger and Crissa Consie.

Although Judy was born in The West, her parents and all five of her siblings were from rural Arkansas and she was quite familiar with southern culture, which many transplants had brought with them to the Great Central Valley of California. Because she was not just a reader, but also a writer, her stories often reflect the customs, values, and vocabulary of that culture.

Days after her passing, a Mead 5 Star binder was found in plain sight and meant to be seen. It held three of her stories, which were intended to be read.

A small memorial gathering for family, a few old friends, and their kind and generous neighbors is being planned for this fall at their home in Verdi.