Judith N. Gifford, longtime Mumford Cove resident, more recently relocated to Stoneridge, has left this earth to rejoin her husband of 30 years and soul mate, Ralph, after a graceful yet defiant two year battle against brain cancer.
Judith lived a full life. She traveled the world, frequently by bike and always with friends. She went to movies, the symphony, and the theatre whenever she could.
She loved tennis, both playing and watching, and, in fact, it was in part watching the French Open that kept her spirit strong during her most recent hospital stay in New York City.
Judith was always knitting, and with love, for any of her three grandsons, Kyle, Ryan, and Sean. She would have carried on this tradition with great-grandson, Aiden, but her hands would no longer oblige.
She adored her work as reference librarian at the Groton Public Library. She walked, she biked, she gardened, she read, she played piano, she mastered the toughest crosswords, enjoyed her many bridge games, and more. She lived.
Judith was born Sept. 15, 1935, to Bertha H. and Granville M. Neal, in Cranston, R.I. She attended the University of Rhode Island, which is where she and Ralph met and began their life together. She returned to U.R.I. to earn first a master's degree in education and later a master's in library science.
She called Groton home for 52 years and was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Mystic.
In recent days, she had consistently expressed tremendous gratitude for her many friends and their many kindnesses. She loved you all.
Judith is survived by her children, Scott Gifford of Pawcatuck, and his family, Diane, Ashley, and Aiden Gillece, Leslie Gifford of Warren R.I., and Ken Gifford of Darien, his wife, Dorothy, and sons, Kyle, Ryan, and Sean; and by her brother, Kenneth Neal of Stewart, Fla.
A celebration of her life will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 17, at the First United Methodist Church, 23 Willow St., Mystic.
The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, you honor Judith's memory with a charitable contribution to either the American Cancer Society /Road To Recovery Program, at 30 Speen St., Framingham MA 01701 or the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, 289 State St., New London CT 06320-6300
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