Dr. Judy A. Cole's Obituary
Dr. Judy Cole
July 15, 1955 - June 4, 2025
Those who knew Judy knew she was a very private and independent person as well as an intensely curious person who wanted to know how things worked and why. This started at a very early age when she was told that you shouldn’t stick metal in an electrical outlet. Why? she thought. So she stuck a fork in one and found out. The scientist in her was born at that moment, as she had to find out if the phenomenon was repeatable. This curiosity led to change her career trajectory a number of times.
Judy was a woman of few words, but when she had something to say, you best pay attention, as it would probably be insightful. This self-proclaimed “Naturally funny” person, however, was rarely at a loss for words. Sayings that she accumulated over her lifetime from friends, movies, or comedic routines would re-emerge at appropriate moments, albeit at times seasoned with either humor or sarcasm, her second language. “Damn, Margo,” and “For you, no charge” were two of her favorites. She also could use colorful language quite well.
Judy was not without her quirks and mannerisms. Those who knew her were aware of her ability to raise a single eyebrow, and what it meant. She embraced technology early on, and if she couldn’t figure out how it worked, she either persisted or found someone to help her, because no machine or technology would defeat her. Judy was open to embracing all kinds of folks. Her friendships encompassed people of color, members of the LGBTQIA community and others marginalized by society.
Once you got to know Judy, you discovered a very loving, caring, and fiercely loyal friend. She loved to teach, because knowledge and experience weren’t meant to be hoarded but shared. For her there was nothing better than the look on a student’s faces when they finally understood a difficult concept or saw the reality of something for the first time.
Judy was a sports nut, especially following college and professional football, checking in on all sports daily with Sports Center and Pardon the Interruption on ESPN. Her favorite pro football team, not surprisingly was the Kansas City Chiefs. In part because of her time in Missouri, but also because their uniforms are red, her favorite color. Until baseball got to be too boring for her, she also followed the St Louis Cardinals, who were also a “red” team.
Judy always had her posse wherever she lived. While at the University of Missouri in Columbia, it was the PRGs (the Puerto Rico Group) with whom she spent quality
time on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra, and at Bennett Springs in Missouri, where it was always 5 degrees cooler on the river. Here in Memphis, she had the GBs you can imagine, knowing Judy what those initials stood for. Her brother and sister-in-law along with her niece Alyssa Mages, her husband Paul Mages, Alyssa and Paul’s children Claire and Braden Mages and Cindy’s family were her family. In 47 years, she only missed spending three Christmases with them – one because of the pandemic and the other two because of her illness.
Judy loved most kinds of music, but especially jazz. She also had the once in a lifetime experience of singing Mozart’s Requiem with the St Louis Symphony while in graduate school. She taught herself to play the guitar and was adept at finger picking. Now that her life has come to a conclusion, the song of her life will have to be picked up and shared with the world by the rest of us. She will be sorely missed by her brother Charlie, and by her three sisters by different misters – Charlie’s wife Cindy, her BFF Judy Richey and E. O. Wade. She will be missed by her niece Alyssa (Mages), Alyssa’s husband Paul, and her great niece and nephew Claire and Braden, Judy Richey’s husband Steve, and her posse here in Memphis, her colleagues and her students. The world has lost a kind and generous soul.
In 2025, Dr. Judy Cole, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, established the ACRE Trainee Assistantship Grant (TAG) to support the next generation of researchers in agriculture and conservation. This grant reflects her lifelong commitment to mentoring students and advancing collaborative science.
The ACRE TAG fund continues Dr. Cole's legacy by empowering emerging scholars to explore, discover, and lead.
If you wish to give, please scan the QR code or use the link provided and scroll down to select the Dr. Judy Cole Trainee Assistantship Grant. http://tinyurl.com/c8s7srv5
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