Judith Johnson Hale

JUDITH JOHNSON HALE Judith Lu Johnson Hale, beloved teacher, friend and spouse, died Tuesday, May 31, 2001, after a short illness. Judi was known for her compassion, independence and wit. In accordance with her wishes, there will be no services. The daughter of Alfred and Mildred Johnson, Judi grew up in the small community of Chadron, Neb. in the 1940's. Her father was a staunch and educated railroad man and both her parents were pillars of the community. Judi never lost the common sense and practical outlook on life she gained from them. After graduating from Chadron High School in 1961, Judi attended Chadron State College. While there, Judi encountered the two things that would change her life forever - teaching and her soul mate, Ralph Dewey Hale Jr., a dashing senior classman with a wicked sense of humor. They were engaged in Judi's senior year and were wed on Jan. 22, 1965, the year Judi obtained her B.A. in English. Judi then joined Ralph as a teacher at Hyannis High School. In 1968, they loaded up a U-Haul trailer and headed to Las Vegas. Judi took a position teaching English and journalism at Edward W. Clark High School, where she taught for 27 years. During her leadership, Clark's newspaper and yearbook took top awards around the state and the southwest region. She was fiercely dedicated to professional journalism and demanded it of her students. News items were factual, unbiased and informational. Editorials could be thought-provoking, creative and controversial, but inflammatory, misleading innuendo was not allowed. Opinions were based on data and research, not rhetoric. After retiring from public service, Judi instilled these same values in another generation of students when she took a position as the publications advisor at the Meadows School, where she taught for five years. Her excellence and influence on students was recognized and honored by both the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Sun in May 2000. They said she was influential in encouraging students to embrace the honored profession of journalist - cultivating in them "high ideals and a love of writing." She was also awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Uptown Kiwanis for the program she began with the Paradise Senior Citizen's Club that pared journalism students and seniors. When Ralph died in 2004, Judi continued to pursue her hobbies of gardening, sewing and photography. She was also a treasured volunteer for the Clark County Library District and maintained friendships with a vast network of former students and teacher colleagues. Judi and Ralph had no children and no surviving relatives, so their colleagues and former students became their family as well as their friends. Just as we missed Ralph upon his passing, we will miss Judy dearly, but her legacy lives on in the lives of those she taught so well. A scholarship fund honoring them has been established at their alma mater, Chadron State College. Donations can be sent to Chadron State College Foundation, 1000 Main St., Chadron, NE 69337 for the Hale/Johnson/Driscoll Memorial Scholarship Fund.