Judith "Judy" A. Cary

          Judith A. “Judy” Cary, 76, of Bettendorf, Iowa passed away on Sunday, September 17, 2023 at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf following a valiant 2-year battle with cancer.

          A celebration of life will be held from 10:00 a.m. to Noon on Friday, September 29^th at McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home, Bettendorf.  Inurnment will be at Pleasant Valley Cemetery.  Memorials may be directed to Gilda’s Club of the Quad Cities (https://gcqc.gnosishosting.net/Portal/Donate) or to King’s Harvest Pet Rescue No-Kill Shelter (https://kingsharvestpetrescue.org/donate/).

          Judy was born on April 21, 1947 in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Karl and Geraldine “Betty” Pfaff.  She was a member of the Class of 1965 at Bettendorf High School.  After many years of service, she retired from the Department of Corrections where she had worked as a secretary.  Judy volunteered for years at The Discovery Shop and looked forward to her lunch dates with “The Lunch Bunch”, her classmates from Bettendorf High School.  Judy took pride in being a silly and eccentric woman who was unpredictable.  She loved animals, digging in the dirt, and watching her plants grow.  Judy was true blue to her friends and was a self-proclaimed total blonde!

          Those left to honor her memory are her partner, Dennis Boore; very close friend, Tony (Virginia Walker) Welch; granddaughter, Shelby Pate; step-sons, Bryan and Bradley Cary; and her beloved canine, Duff, and felines, Casey and Charlie. Throughout her life, Judy cared for and helped raise several young men as her own, including Anthony and Adam Welch, and Jason Ahrens.

          In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by her son, Bret Cary in 2016; her step-son, Bart Carey; and Tony Welch’s nephew, Nick Eaton.

          Her friends and family would like to extend their gratitude to the staff at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House for their exceptional care and compassion during Judy’s illness.

Judy will be fondly remembered as the one who, “When the going got tough, she got going.”