ROCKLAND — Judith Anne Childs Waterman died late in the afternoon on Sunday, September 15, at Breakwater Commons in Rockland.

Judy was born May 14, 1938, the second of two daughters of Ralph Winslow and Beryl Allison Mandigo Childs in West Barrington, Rhode Island. During the 1938 hurricane that fall, the plaster ceiling above her crib fell in, slightly injuring her and scaring the heck out of her parents. 

She learned to play the piano as a child from her grandmother, a Providence concert pianist. Judy attended Northfield School for Girls in Massachusetts and Duke University in North Carolina. She developed a love of theater at Northfield which continued through her years at Duke. She worked in radio during college, and later in New York City.

She bore four children, Melissa, Susan, Ted and William, and lived in Little Compton, Rhode Island until 1970. Her husband, a boatbuilder and sailor, took a job with Morgan Yachts and the family moved to Clearwater, Florida. Judy always loved to sail. While in Florida she was on the cover of the 1977 edition of Chapman’s Piloting, Seamanship and Boating.

When her marriage ended, Judy found ways to give her children lots of adventures on a tight budget. In 1987 she started Companion Care Senior Sitters Inc., a health care company that provided companions for the elderly. In 1992 she renovated a building in nearby Palm Harbor and opened Watermark Galleries, a fine arts and crafts gallery.

After 26 years in Florida, Judy decided to make a change. She moved to Maine, where her daughter Melissa was living. The two purchased the A.C. McLoon home in Rockland in 1999, converting it to Waterman House and Gardens, a small bed and breakfast.

Judy’s lifelong devotion to music and the arts flourished in her new home. She was a 20-year member of Down East Singers and the volunteer coordinator for Bay Chamber Concerts for 15 years. As a member of the Rockland Congregational Church and later moderator of its council, she began a musical series at the church, then curated regular art shows there featuring local artists. She was a member of the church’s bell choir under the direction of Margaret Small.

She was a dedicated gardener everywhere she lived. Not only did she and Melissa create colorful gardens at their home in Rockland, but in her later years she began working with her friend Denise Drolet as a gardener at homes on the Port Clyde peninsula. She also was a volunteer with the Georges River Land Trust and a member of the Rotary Club in Rockland and in Florida.

Judy was an outgoing person with a love of travel. Through the American Field Service, she lived with a family in West Berlin in 1955. She and her daughter Melissa traveled together, visiting Salzburg, Austria, and the Loire Valley among other places. They went on many camping trips in Maine and Canada. She was always keen to hold dinner parties or enjoy cocktails with friends on the porch at her Rockland home.

Judy’s life was full of ups and downs yet she remained remarkably cheerful and optimistic throughout, even after a stroke in 2018 took from her the independence she so dearly loved. 

Judy was married three times. In addition to her children, she is survived by her grandchildren Jimmy and Kyle in Florida; Tommy, wife Iza and great-grandchild Iza in Georgia; and her niece, Debby in San Francisco, California.