Judith Beatrice Harrison

Judith Beatrice Harrison (April 16, 1941 - September 20, 2025). Mom, Mumma, Mother-In-Love, Judy, JuJu, Nina, Meemaw, Ninja and Momma-pop, were among the names she went by. Named after Judy Garland, Judy had the fashion boldness of Elizabeth Taylor and carried herself with the poise, stature and dignity of Jackie Onassis. She would tell it like it is, but always from a place of love. She was our matriarch, our queen. She was our friend, as she was to so many. She helped anyone she could… even perfect strangers. She was our beacon of light when everything was dark. She would collect inspiring quotes and remind us to always be grateful for our blessings, family being the biggest one. She covered us kids, with her broken wings, even when we failed to see how she protected us. She was a widow but enjoyed living an independent life. She never tired of bettering herself and others. At 84, she enjoyed bridge, working out, visiting with family and dancing with all her many friends at the Richmond Shag Club. If you ever stepped foot in any of her homes, it was like stepping into a Better Homes & Gardens magazine. She could turn any room into a beautiful space that had every corner decorated and the lighting just right. Elegant and beautiful, just like her. Her memory is a gift to all that knew her. She will be missed by so many. She blessed more people than she could have ever realized. She lived by the quote “I’m going to live ‘til I die,” and that she did! Her wings carried her home September 20th. She left behind a legacy of love and an example of how to treat others. We will continue to use the lessons she instilled in us. We will miss her every day. She’s in the songs on the radio, she’s in the cloud shapes she loved to imagine, she’s in her children, niece, daughter-in-love, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren - she is everywhere. We will see her again, and when we do, we will have on our dancing shoes.

Judy was never one for sadness, and instead always wanted the ones she loved to be happy and have a good time. She didn’t want a traditional funeral service, instead she wanted a party - a Celebration of Life where all her friends and family could come together to eat good food, listen to music, dance, tell good stories of her, laugh and cry, have a glass of wine, and enjoy one another in remembrance of her. Judy’s Celebration of Life will be on November 8, 2025 from 4pm to 10pm - come whenever you want. It will be at Jill’s house - send a text to 804-404-5082 or an email to wvajuju70@gmail.com if you need the address. Feel free to bring a dish to share, your drink of choice, and a chair to relax in (we’ll have some chairs). For anyone who’d like to give in her memory, we’ll have a donation box (cash or Venmo QR code), and all contributions will go in her honor to her favorite charities.