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 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 yourself and your loved ones.

Sincerely, Roopesh Aggarwal Board President, Central City Opera Pat Pearce General/Artistic Director, Central City Opera