Obituary
Judith “Judy” Louise (Meyer) Maxwell, beloved mother, wife, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep at home in Port Orange FL on May 13th, 2025. Her daughter Kelly was with her at her passing.
Judy was born on July 31, 1938 in Urbana, IL to Arthur and Mary Lou (Smith) Meyer. She was baptized at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Champaign, IL on August 14, 1938 and spent her early childhood years running the river bluffs around Alton, IL. Her family then moved to Champaign, IL, where she ultimately graduated from Champaign High School in 1956. Upon graduating she attended Illinois State University where she became a member of the Phi Gamma Mu National Social Science Honor Society and graduated with a BS-Education in 1960. She later would go on and obtain a Master’s Degree from the National College of Education in Evanston, IL in 1985.
She began her amazing teaching career in 1960 and continued in various schools at the Junior High School and High School level until her retirement in 1994 when she and her husband Donald L. Maxwell, moved to Florida. Judy was an extremely active member of every church she attended. After her husband Don passed, she moved to Port Orange, FL in 2013 to be near her family, and Judy became a highly engaged member of the Crane Lakes and Our Lady of Hope communities. While in the Port Orange area, she served her faith community as a communion minister to shut-ins, drove widows to church on Sundays, served the homeless in Loaves and Fishes, helped with the food pantry, volunteered at the Our Lady of Hope Thrift Shop, and sang in the church choir.
Judy was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved husband Donald L. Maxwell. She is survived by her daughter Kelly Lynne Parra, her son Robert Warren Maxwell, 9 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, her brother James (Karen) Meyer and her sister Karen (Robert) Meyer -Giauque, many cousins, nieces, and nephews and countless friends.
In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations be made in her name to your local charities that provide outreach and support to the homeless in your community.
Funeral mass will be on Saturday June 14, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Port Orange, FL and followed with a Celebration of life at the Crane Lakes clubhouse ballroom at 2 p.m.
She was one amazing and loving aunt who always made you feel like she was focused in on you and yours when she spoke with and spent time with you.
To say she was athletic was an understatement! Tennis, golf, canoeing…you name it, she did it! She was a fierce competitor, but knew how to encourage you and cheer you on. She was 100% class and I will miss her dearly. The good Lord gained an incredible angel in his realm! Hugs to all of you as you navigate life without her in your daily lives.