Obituary: Judith A. “Judy” Gregory

April 3, 1948 ~ August 2, 2022

Judith Ann “Judy” Gregory, 74, of Sturgeon Bay, died on August 2, 2022, at Door County Medical Center.  She was born on April 3, 1948, in Chicago, IL to Kenneth and Elinore (McGinn) Irwin.  Judy graduated from Alvernia High School in Chicago in 1966.  On January 21, 1967, she married the love of her life William E. Gregory in Chicago. 

Music and family were the most important part of her life.  She was so happy to be able to watch her children become wonderful adults and cherished the time she spent with her grandchildren, especially doing arts and crafts projects and baking around the kitchen table with them. 

Judy and Bill spent their lives helping people. In Chicago, the Gregory House was a safe place for the neighborhood kids to hang out and Bill and Judy welcomed their sons’ friends as if they were their own. She was an important and influential person in many people’s lives and had a special knack for pushing people to be the best they could be. Throughout her life she was involved in foster parenting and providing a safe home for domestic violence families.  She was also involved in Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts.  Judy believed in being active in the community and “giving back”.  She spent many years on the board of the Door County Fair Association, most recently as vice president.

Judy was a review officer for Door County Social Services, first responder and EMT for both Southern Door and Sevastopol.  In 1993, she started out as a volunteer for the American Red Cross and in 2001, she became a full-time staff person.  Most recently, she was the disaster program manager for eastern Wisconsin territory 3. During this time, she helped countless families across Northeast Wisconsin in some of their greatest time of need.

Survivors include her husband, William “Bill” Gregory; four sons,  Zane (Lisa) Nania, Leesburg, VA;  Will (Anita) Gregory, Sturgeon Bay; Andy (Michelle) Gregory, DePere; Josh (Gwen) Gregory, Sturgeon Bay; six grandchildren,  Christian and Ben Gregory; Miranda and Julia Gregory; Kenneth and Thomas Gregory;  a brother, Dave (Rose) Irwin, Mesquite, NY; a sister,  Trish (Ron) Baughman, Delavan, WI; a brother-in-law, Don (Renate) Gregory, Sturgeon Bay;

She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Ken Irwin; a sister-in-law, Linda Boyd.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m., Saturday August 6, 2022, at Forbes Funeral Home with Deacon Mark Hibbs officiating.  Visitation will be from 11:30 a.m. until the time of services at the funeral home on Saturday.