Judith Ann Nordhoff

Judith Ann "Jude" Nordhoff, aka "Nord," "Mars" "Big Judy" and others, died Saturday, December 28, 2024, Worthington, Minnesota. She was born May 6, 1945. In Buffalo, N.Y., to George and Gladys (Ferner) Nordhoff. She grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from high school in 1963. She would soon meet Stanley McGaughey at a bowling alley, and they eventually ran away together and got married on Aug. 26, 1965 in North Carolina. The young couple lived in multiple locations, mostly on the east coast, while Stanley served in the U.S. Navy. They became the parents of two sons, Ryan and Ian. They later moved to upstate New York in 1971 and eventually settled in Saratoga Springs in late 1972.
JUST ("Jude" and Stan) amicably went their separate ways in the mid-'70s, and Jude went on to live in a few different residences of varying degrees of funkiness. Mom rented a large home on Phila Street that may or may not have been condemned at the time. (Upon moving in, the place had multiple 45s in a toilet and several pieces of toast hanging on the dining room wall). She later lived in an upstairs apartment on Nelson Avenue for 11 years. She watched her kids play lots of wiffle ball, made pancakes for dinner after little league games and became a cool second mom to many of her sons' friends.
During this time, Jude also earned a bachelor's degree from Empire State College and was the first member of the Nordhoff family to be educated beyond high school. She eventually went back to school to earn a master's degree in education administration from the University of Wyoming. Jude also actively pursued education of an entirely different kind, as she was unafraid of trying new things and pursuing daring life adventures. She spent 10 days in January 1986 in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota on an Outward Bound trip, sleeping outside in minus-20-degree weather. In another extreme, she later spent two years in Botswana serving in the Peace Corps and working for the Department of Wildlife. Additionally, Jude also worked with the United Nations as an electoral supervisor in Bosnia during that country's first elections following the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord.
In 1997, Jude moved to Washington, D.C., where she lived for four and a half years and worked at the World Bank. She moved back to Saratoga, she said, because she missed the snow. She got a job at Empire State College in continuing education and retired in 2012. She lived in apartments on Perry Street, Walton Street and Russell Street before moving to Worthington, Minnesota in 2018.
Jude absolutely loved the outdoors and especially enjoyed hiking with her best friend, "Uncle Marti" Townley, and was also fond of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. She loved all animals – especially her beloved cats Pinkle Purr, Murphy Joe, Jake, Bert and Tallulah. She loved receiving mix tapes (and later CDs) of assorted rock and pop songs from her sons and was very "up" on pop culture until her final years. Even when her sons were grown, she enjoyed serving them their favorite breakfasts of "Perfect Eggs" ("Perfs") and "Eggs in the Big Fat Almighty Gigunda Monster Hole."
Jude is survived by her two sons: Ryan (Rebecca) McGaughey and their children, Grace and Zachary, of Worthington, Minnesota; and Ian McGaughey of Yuma, Arizona; one brother, Gary Nordhoff, of Lexington, Kentucky, and one nephew.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
A private family service will take place at a later date with the Dingmann Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Worthington.
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