Without my stepmother’s influence, I’m certain I wouldn’t be the person I am, today.

 

She and my dad met when I was just three years old, not long after my parents had separated. Though I wouldn’t realize it until I was an adult and had children of my own, she gave me the structure and discipline neither of my parents were able to provide.

 

A no-nonsense lady who took charge of everything she involved herself in, she was one of the strongest, hard-working women I’ve ever known. After my father’s untimely death, several years earlier, and a 40+ year career with the United Postal Service in downtown Washington DC, she retired in Lewes Delaware. She spent the last several years of her life on travel, quilting, various art projects, gardening, letterboxing and collecting.

 

In 2018, after a long and courageous, three-year fight, Pancreatic Cancer took the life of Judy Beigbeder. Up until a few weeks before she passed, you could still find her, in the yard, busting her tail on some project. She refused to quit.

 

Not one to enable others, she insisted I work hard for everything I wanted in life and now, I’m incredibly grateful she did. Instead of saving me from my poor choices, she insisted I figure my own way out. Her unwillingness to save me from myself was the very thing that saved my life.

 

It was only in her last days I learned she was leaving me in the position to make a lasting impact on the lives of others. And now, it’s my mission to do just that.