- Date Of Birth: January 18, 1935
- Date Of Death: May 2, 2022
- State: Indiana
Judy Graf, nee Curry, died peacefully on May 2, 2022 surrounded by family. She was a dedicated teacher & student and believed fervently in the power of lifelong education.
She graduated from Marquette University in 1957 with a degree in Philosophy and Elementary Education and started teaching in the Chicago Public Schools. It was there she met one of her dearest friends, Dolly Toomey, and it was on a ski trip together that they both met their future husbands. Judy and Mike Graf were married on August 17, 1963 in what many of their friends still say was the best wedding they ever attended.
She continued teaching when she moved to South Bend until they started their family. They had three boys, John, Tim and Pat, and raised them in Corpus Christi Parish. Judy still occasionally substitute taught and was determined to get back to it. She took night classes and earned a Master of Science in Education, Counseling and Guidance from IUSB in 1980.
She went to work as an intern in the General Studies Department at IUSB and became an Academic Advisor, helping students turn their work experiences into college credits. Over the next 18 years she became an Adjunct Lecturer and Assistant Director of the Department. She helped well over a thousand students earn their associate and bachelor’s degrees, which brought such life-changing satisfaction and expanded opportunities for them and joy for her.
She retired in 2001 to a beautiful place on the St. Joe River with Mike enjoying the views, nature and entertaining friends, neighbors and grandchildren. She never stopped learning, reading voraciously and volunteering at Logan Center and Ronald McDonald House.
She was proceeded in death by her husband of 57 years, Mike and is survived by her sons, John Graf of Northfield, IL, Timothy Graf (Ronni) of Boca Raton, FL, and Patrick Graf (Kirsten) of Highland Park, IL; six grandchildren, Jack, Kathleen, Liam, Sam, Sophia, and Finn; her sister, Sheila Perkovich and her brother-in-law, Mark Perkovich, of Chicago. She is preceded in death by her father, Edmund Curry, and her mother, Catherine Scott Curry.
