Julia Curlett "Judy" Stap

1943 - 2024

Julia Anne Curlett Stap, 80, of Kennedyville, MD passed away peacefully Friday April 12, 2024, at the Chestertown Nursing and Rehab.

Julia (Judy) was born on September 13, 1943, in Chestertown, MD to the late Emily Diana and John Martin Curlett. She was a 1961 graduate of Chestertown High School. She moved from Chestertown to Cambridge and Annapolis before settling back down in her home in Kennedyville. While in Annapolis she worked as a paid volunteer for the Hammond Harwood House, a historical museum house dating back to the Revolutionary War. During this time, she

also found her love of raising and showing cats. She started the Bay Country Cattery where she raised and bred Himalayan cats. Upon moving back to the Eastern Shore, she continued the Cattery later raising Persians and American Short Hair cats. She won many awards for her quality cats.

Judy met her husband, John Stap while she was working at the Rear Garage Restaurant in Chestertown and they were married on Valentines Day 1980. He was the love of her life, her family knew they were soulmates. She worked for over 30 years with Kent County Public School System as a school secretary for Rock Hall Elementary and later Worton Elementary. Judy was an avid gardener, loved living on the family farm and enjoyed her trips around the

county with her daughter enjoying the beautiful farm and water views of Kent County. She truly enjoyed every season and all the beauty that each brought. She was also an avid reader who loved to learn about historical people and places and gardening ideas.

Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 24 years John Stap.

She is survived by her daughter Gretchen Curlett Kohl (Jim); brother John Curlett (Rosemarie); sisters Emily Joiner (Alan), Priscilla Whiting (Allen), Caroline Thompson (Lenny) and Charlotte Curlett (Johnny); granddaughters Victoria Cartwright (Adam) and Elizabeth Kohl (Jamel); and great-grandchildren Daniel, Shane and Natalie. As well as many beloved nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at Shrewsbury Parish Church, Kennedyville, MD on April 24, 2024 at 11AM. Burial will follow in adjoining cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be offered to the Humane Society of Kent County, 10168 Worton Rd, Chestertown, MD 21620.

Arrangements by Galena Funeral Home of Stephen L. Schaech