Be safe. Stay Strong.
PAGE 14 | THE VILLAGER • July 9, 2020
Remembering Judy Grant June 15, 2020
It is with a great deal of sadness that we announce that Judy Grant, our Board Chair, passed away on June 15, 2020. Judy served on the Central City Opera Board of Directors since 2002 and assumed the Chairmanship in 2018. She was a gracious representative of the organization in all she did. She loved to show off all that Central City Opera had to offer and we were lucky to have her dedication and commitment guiding this organization. She was a dear friend who will be greatly missed. You can read Judy’s obituary below to learn more about her life and the impact she made on our community. Judith (Judy) Wilson Grant, 76, passed away on June 15, 2020 at home in Greenwood Village, Colorado. She was born in Temple, Texas, but spent much of her youth living in various places, including The Hague, Netherlands, as a result of her father’s career in the oil business. She earned a degree in English from Sweet Briar College in Virginia and moved to New Orleans where she began her teaching career. In
1971, she married Newell McIntyre Grant of Littleton, Colorado. The couple moved to New York City where Judy worked as the assistant to the Executive Director of the Pierpont Morgan Library. After three years in New York, Judy and Newell moved to Greenwood Village. Judy taught at Kent Denver School and later at St. Anne’s Episcopal School. She dedicated many years to what she believed was a fundamental necessity of society: education. Throughout her life, she pursued a love of writing, grammar, literature, and language. After retiring from teaching, Judy devoted her time to an array of philanthropic and cultural causes. She sat on the board of directors for the Denver Botanic Gardens, Sweet Briar College, and Reach Out and Read and chaired boards for the Central City Opera House Association and the Mesa Verde Foundation. She was an active member of the Garden Club of Denver. She served as Chair of the Denver Debutante Ball and sat on the art advisory committee for the Coors Western Art Show. She was Vice Regent for Colorado to Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, and her association with
Mrs. Judith Wilson Grant, Vice Regent for Colorado Dear Colleagues and Friends, I am sorry to announce the passing of our wonderful Vice Regent for Colorado, Mrs. Judith Wilson Grant. Mrs. Grant had served on the Board of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association with distinction since 2017. A lifelong educator, Mrs. Grant was an active volunteer and philanthropist for many causes nationally and in and around Denver, Colorado. She brought her passion for teaching and helping her community to her service on the MVLA when she chaired the Traditions and Graciousness Committee, bringing her unique energy, style, and whimsy. Judy was a tremendously generous, gracious, and creative host who brought hundreds of people together to learn about the work that we all do here at Mount Vernon. She was an effervescent person, always with a laugh and a word of encouragement, and was a beautiful writer and a loyal friend. In Denver I met people who had been in her classroom, who had worked with her on charitable boards, who were lifelong family friends—all of them came out for their love of Judy and Newell, the
indispensable team of the Denver social and philanthropic community. For my part, I feel lucky to have known her for the short time our paths crossed at Mount Vernon, and I feel sorry for the institution for our loss of her leadership, wit, and passion. She will be missed by many and by us. Judy leaves behind a loving husband Newell and their four children, Margaret, Will, Caroline and Newell Jr., as well as their spouses, and grandchildren. She also is part of the family of our Vice Regent for Illinois, Mrs. Cate Waddell, with whom she shares two grandchildren. My thoughts and prayers are with them all. When we open for families and volunteers of Mount Vernon on June 18, we will fly the flags at half-staff in Judy Grant’s honor, so she can enjoy in spirit with us our reopening of the estate, which she loved so well. My very best, Doug Douglas Bradburn, Ph. D. President & CEO George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon inspired a love for our Founding Fathers and the early development of the United States. Judy will be remembered as a tireless worker, a model of integrity and grace, and for her effervescent optimism and laughter that affected those who knew her. She greeted everyone with a bright smile and warm embrace. She lived in the same house in Greenwood Village
that she moved into in 1974 after leaving New York, and she spent her final days admiring her garden, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her husband, Newell, of 49 years, and her four children and their families: Margaret Grant Mitchell and Scott; Will Grant and Claire Antoszewski; Newell Grant, Jr. and Helena; Caroline Grant Waddell and Frederick; and five grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made in her name to the Central City Opera, Mount Vernon, and Denver Botanic Gardens. Due to the pandemic, we
are unable to safely hold a large celebration of her life at this time but hope too soon. The immediate family held a private service on Saturday, June 27. If you would like to take a moment to smell the roses, read a poem, and think of Judy, we would be honored. Multos amavit a multis amata. (She loved many; by many she was loved.) Our thoughts, prayers and sympathy to her wonderful family who were also a tremendous part of this organization. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Sincerely, Roopesh Aggarwal Board President, Central City Opera Pat Pearce General/Artistic Director, Central City Opera
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