Judy Dillon

Judith Ann Thompson Dillon, 79, was welcomed into the alto section of our Lord’s heavenly choir the evening of January 13, 2021 after a 13-month struggle with an incurable glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumor.   She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, Tom of Plano, Texas; son John (Kim) of Huntsville, Alabama; son Brian (Roxanne) of Plano, Texas; and daughter Jana Ward (David) also of Plano, Texas; grandchildren Josh (Ashley)-Huntsville, AL; Karen (fiancé, Morgan)-Birmingham, Alabama; Tanner-Plano, Texas; Christy-Huntsville, Alabama; Tyler-Plano, Texas; great grandchildren Riley and Liam-Huntsville, Alabama; brother, Harv (Richard)-McFarland, Wisconsin; sisters, Mary Hacker (Phillip), Susan Hudson, and Jeanne Jacowski (Todd) – all of Stevens Point, Wisconsin; brother-in-law, Bruce (Jaquelin) – Bloomington, Minnesota; sister-in-law, Sandi – Plano, Texas; brother-in-law, Terry (Melody)-Platteville, Wisconsin; along with numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.  She now joins her parents, Rev. Herbert and Helen Louise Thompson and parents-in-law, Bernard (Bunny) and Mabel Dillon.

Judy was born February 10, 1941 in Petrolia, Pennsylvania to parents Herbert and Helen Thompson while Herbert was a Methodist ministry student at Grove City College.  Being a “PK” (preacher’s kid), Judy and the Thompson family relocated often as Rev. Thompson’s church appointments changed.  Following his first appointment in 1945 to Clarks Mills Pennsylvania Methodist Church, the family moved to Mount Horeb, Wisconsin in 1947 so Rev. Thompson could pursue an advanced divinity degree at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.  Over time, Judy was joined by her brother and 3 sisters.  Although being the oldest child, Judy was also the shortest, and her siblings referred to her lovingly as their “little, big sister.”  The family next moved to Mineral Point, Wisconsin in 1952 where Judy finished her elementary and junior high schooling and her first year of high school.  As a freshman, Judy was a cheerleader and participated in band and mixed chorus.

After her freshman year, the Thompson family moved to Platteville, Wisconsin in 1956 where Judy met Tom, and the two became high school sweethearts. She continued her love of both instrumental and vocal music performance as well as engaging in intramural athletics, various foreign language social clubs, and speech programs. In her junior year, she and Tom were elected by their classmates to be members of the Junior Prom Court.  Outside of school, Judy enjoyed getting together with friends for swimming and water skiing in the summer and ice skating and tobogganing during the winter months.  During her senior year she served as Worthy Advisor for the local chapter of the Rainbow Girls service organization.  Upon high school graduation in 1959, Judy was awarded a scholarship to attend the 3-year Methodist Hospital School of Nursing program in Madison, Wisconsin to pursue her lifelong desire to become a registered nurse.

During her first year of nursing school, Tom and Judy were married on April 1, 1960.  After completing her first year of training, Judy took a year off to give birth to their first child, John, born on Tom’s birthday, November 8.  Judy returned to school the following summer to complete her nursing education studies.  Fortunately, her father and family had received a new church appointment to Bethany United Methodist Church in Madison, Wisconsin enabling them to provide care for young John while Judy and Tom were completing their respective education pursuits.  During her last 2 years of training, Judy did multiple off-campus specialized nursing discipline stints of 3-months each at Chicago Lying-In Hospital for labor and delivery, Milwaukee Children’s Hospital, and the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison.  Upon graduation in June 1963, Judy successfully passed her nursing board exams to become a licensed Registered Nurse and accepted a position as a night nurse at the Platteville General Hospital.  In this position, she supported Tom in completing his final year of study at UW-Platteville.

Upon attainment of Tom’s degree from UW-P in January 1964, Judy, Tom, and John relocated to Milwaukee where Judy had been hired as night charge nurse at Columbia Hospital, and Tom was awarded a graduate teaching assistantship at UW-Milwaukee.  In September of 1964, Tom was hired by the IBM Federal Systems Division in Bethesda, Maryland to enter a computer programmer training program.  At the completion of the program in November, Tom was reassigned to the new IBM-Huntsville, Alabama facility in support of NASA’s Saturn/Apollo lunar program and subsequent space initiatives over the next 17 years.

Judy gave birth to their second child, Brian, in August of 1965 and their third child, Jana, in June of 1968.  Choosing to stay at home to raise and nurture her children until all three were in school, she put her nursing career on the back burner.  Judy played an active part on the IBM ladies industrial league softball and volleyball teams – pitching the softball team to the city championship in 1967 and also being the setter for the winning volleyball team.  Judy was an excellent bowler and taught children to bowl with either hand in the IBM children’s league.  She stayed active in local church choirs and mission/service programs while raising her children and helping to plan the building of their first new home constructed in 1971.  After Jana entered elementary school, Judy accepted an office nursing position for a local pediatrics practice.  Subsequently, she performed onsite physical screening exams for various insurance companies.

In August of 1981, Judy, Tom, Brian, and Jana relocated to Plano, Texas after Tom accepted a transfer to a new IBM Software Development Lab opened in Irving’s Las Colinas business park.  John was completing an electrical engineering degree at Auburn University and did not relocate with the family.  Judy had not yet decided to return to the workforce upon arrival in Texas, but in 1983, a neighbor who worked for the non-profit Dallas Association for Parent Education (DAPE) needed to make a change of employment to a for-profit situation and asked Judy if she could fill in for her until a permanent replacement could be found – 34 years later Judy retired from DAPE only to return on a part-time basis for two more years to assist her replacement!  Before retiring, Judy had assumed the dual role of office manager for both DAPE and the Dallas Association for the Education of Young Children (DAEYC).  In addition to her office duties, Judy also became a state certified Master Trainer for multiple courses required for annual recertification of childcare workers such as SIDS, Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention, and Baby Sign Language.  She also taught Babies First Year/Infant Care for teen parents at Plano Senior High, Baby Care Basics for pregnant and adopting parents, Breastfeeding Basics for pregnant parents, Infant and Toddler Brain Development for educators, and First Aid and Safety for parents and educators.  She was a regular presenter at local, state, and national conferences.  Among DFW area educators she was popular for her innovative use of a jello brain mold under glass to illustrate the hazards of violently shaken babies.

Following Tom’s prostatectomy in August 2007, Judy and he looked for a prostate cancer support group in Plano, but the only group at that time was restricted to men only.  They believed such a support group should be open to couples, so in 2008 they worked with an oncology nurse navigator at Baylor Hospital to establish a new support group in Plano.  Various medical professionals were invited to speak to the monthly sessions.  Following the medical presentation, those present were divided into separate discussion groups for the patients and their spouses/caregivers.  Judy led the discussion for the caregivers, and Tom led the men.  This format proved to be successful and beneficial to both the men and women, and the group has continued to meet for over 12 years to date.  Judy’s ability to facilitate meaningful discussion among the women was critical to the long-term success of the group and will be difficult to replicate.

When the kids were young, most travel was back and forth to see relatives in Wisconsin or to the kid’s swim meets. After they were older and on their own, Judy and Tom loved traveling to small Texas towns, historical sites, and the beaches of Hawaii. Cruising was a joy, as well, spending anniversaries with Tom and family. Seeing glaciers, visiting all types of beaches, traveling through the Panama Canal, exploring ancient ruins and different cultures were all exciting to her. Once, she finally made it to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower right outside her hotel window, oh the tears of joy flowed. She had always wanted to see it in person and thankfully, she, Tom, Jana and David were able to go enjoy not just Paris, but many stops in Switzerland, walked through an ice cave up on Jungfrau, traveled the Swiss Alps countryside by train, took time to go to Omaha Beach in Normandy to say thank you to the fallen, followed by a week in London that was not near long enough to enjoy all the sites, though she made it to Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and Stonehenge.

Judy was a member of Christ United Methodist Church for over 39 years – for 37 of those years, having been blessed with the gift of perfect pitch, Judy sang alto in the Sanctuary Choir.  She served in many other capacities over the years including UMYF counselor, APPA and youth choir trip chaperone, a Stephen Minister, a member of the Prayer Shawl Ministry, co-leader of the CUMC team for the Plano Overnight Warming Station (POWS) ministry, and one term as President of the Family Living Adult Sunday School Class.  Judy loved her Lord and Savior, Jesus, and her church, and possessed a servant’s heart, regularly addressing the needs of others before her own.  Her bright smile and welcoming personality will be missed by many who knew and loved her.

Judy’s family would like to thank the following medical personnel and their respective staffs who cared for Judy over the past 13 months:  Dr. Krishnan Satyan, Dr. James Petrikas, Dr. Korie Flippo, Dr. Karen Fink, and Dr. Meredith Adams, and especially the caring 6 ^th floor staff of nurses and aides at Baylor Scott & White Hospital in Plano and the caring therapists and aides at the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation facility in Frisco.

The family will hold a private inurnment service at the Christ United Methodist Church Columbarium.  A public memorial service will be conducted at CUMC at a future date when it becomes safe for in-person gatherings.