May 24, 1949 – March 13, 2025
Dear friends, family, and anyone reading this out of curiosity:
I am writing my own story, so it’s one less thing to do when I pass away. I was born May 24, 1949, at the now-closed St. Luke’s Hospital on East Street in Pittsfield, MA. My poor dad spent hours in the smoky men’s waiting room as the nuns forgot to tell him I’d been born earlier!
My older sister Margo (Penny) and I were raised in the baby boom; a simpler life. It was an era of playing with dolls, croquet, horseback riding, biking to Pontoosuc Lake, volunteering at the local hospital, singing for years in South Congregational church choir, playing guitar, later donating 93 pints of blood at Red Cross Drives, and being a member, with my dad, at the Berkshire Museum Camera Club. As a teen, I bought a ‘57 Chevy and loved such freedom! I was so devastated by the assassination of President Kennedy. The Beatles’ arrival lightened the sadness and I became a huge fan. I was a member of Pittsfield High School’s class of 1967. It was too large a class to fit all of us, so many of us attended freshman year at Crosby Jr. High for double sessions.
I received my Associate’s degree in 1969 from Berkshire Community College when it was held at the “Commons” building before the new campus was built. There, I met, and later married, Steve Kruczkowski. Our two wonderful daughters were the result of our 10-year marriage. It was in 1989 that I met my present husband Everett, and we were married on 6/1/91. My daughters wrote and sang their original song for our day, and we left by canoe across Lake Lorraine, Pittstown, NY. I have so enjoyed seeing my daughters grow at every stage of their lives. Both are now teachers! My husband has raised them as if they were his own, and they love him in return; as well as our four wonderful grandkids.
For a decade, I was a telephone operator at New England Telephone Company, then worked at Berkshire Communicators, ran two country craft shops, worked at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, NY, and ended my years of employment at Hoosick Falls Central School as an assistant teacher. With 45 years of working behind me, I retired in June of 2010.
In 2016, however, leukemia struck me quickly, and I spent months between Albany and Boston. In 2017, I received a stem cell donation, and to this day, our family remains in contact with this young hero of mine, Kyle K., from California. In July of 2024, I found out that I had pancreatic cancer as well. It’s been a test, but our humorous family got me through the hard days. My daughters are my rock, and with my husband’s constant care, I am never alone. As a life long, and avid recycler, I have decided to donate my body to The Albany Medical College for teaching purposes for their surgical students.
I leave behind with such love, my husband Everett R. Quackenbush of Hoosick Falls, NY, and his sister Lynn Snow and Family of Canton, NY, my sister Margaret White Efron (husband Marcel), of Sonoma, CA, two daughters, Jessica S. McComish (husband John E.), grandson John S., and granddaughter Julia E. of Dalton, MA, and Jeanna S. Newton (husband Andrew F. and his daughter Breyelle M. Hersey), and Jeanna’s sons, Jonah C. and Jaden A. of Pittsfield, MA.
I leave many cousins, two friends from grade school (love you Chris and Cindy), close college friends (you know who you are!), Lions and Books Club folks, morning swim buddies, and my “angel driver girls” who drove me to countless chemo sessions out of town. I have so many friends who have become my family. They know who they are and are forever loved.
Thank you all for the good and close-knit life. I am at peace. Follow the four C’s: Be Content, Cozy, Curious, and Courageous. And Be Kind—there’s no charge. Just be kind.
Fondly, and with love,
Judy
Judy passed peacefully at home surrounded by her family.
Calling hours for Judith L. (White) Quackenbush will be at Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street, Hoosick Falls, NY on Saturday, March 22, 2025 from 12:00 – 2:00 PM.
A Celebration of Life will take place on June 1, 2025, at The Proprietor’s Lodge, 22 Waubeek Rd, in Pittsfield, MA at 4:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to:
The Town of Hoosick Lions Club
The Karen & Molly McGovern Cancer Fund
Vermont Paws & Boots (for wounded soldiers to receive and work with assigned service dogs)