1946
Judith
2014
Judith Ruark Wilt
April 13, 1946 — November 17, 2014
Biography This is written to commemorate the life of Judy Ruark Wilt. It is sad when someone you love and have spent your life with dies, but the life that she lived was a vivid reminder of what life can be. Her family and innumerable friends now mourn her, but with the ever present realization that her life touched so many individuals, too many to name. She died quietly at age 68, as a result of complications from a brain tumor, Monday night, November 17, 2014 at the Wealshire in Lincolnshire, IL where she was in hospice care.
Judith Ann Ruark Wilt (Zollars) was born in St. Petersburg, FL April 13, 1946 to Millard and Emma Jean Zollars while her father Millard served in the Coast Guard. They soon moved to Kansas where Judy was raised in Harper, just south of Wichita. The farm life made her the independent and self-sufficient woman she became. Graduating from Harper High School, she really wanted to be an airline stewardess (so named in the mid-1960’s) but an unsympathetic father, who said she wouldn’t be a waitress in the air, had other ideas. Judy, being the practical person everyone knew, decided nursing was the course to take. She graduated from St. Francis Nursing School in Wichita and embarked on a 45 year career as an RN. She worked in many areas of nursing over the years from psychiatric (she always said she had the scars to prove it) to OB-GYN to insurance to internal medicine finally as a float nurse for Mercy Clinics in McHenry County, Illinois. She loved her many patients over the years.
Her first of three marriages was rewarded with her daughter, Kris, whom she was immensely proud, having achieved much as a physical therapist and athletic trainer. Always concerned about Kris’ best interest, Judy was very happy when Kris married Barry Heslop, an attorney in Houston. They have subsequently presented the doting grandparents with a son, Creighton, in February, 2014. Judy was most proud of Creighton, a charming lad with an endearing smile even at this early age. It is sad that she had so little time to spoil him.
In 1997, she met Charles Wilt. He was never quite sure if he was the knight in shining armor, but their first meeting at a Barnes & Noble in Arlington, TX convinced him she was for him. They were, for the record, an early internet match (which now seems rather commonplace). It, of course, took a while to commit, having both been through divorces and being rather cautious. When Charles took a job in Chicago at the American Library Association in 1999, he convinced her moving to Chicago was a good idea despite the weather. She agreed. In 2002, they were married in Charleston, SC with her daughter, Kris, a friend Trena Ivy, and his son Erich in attendance. Judy was the perfect complement. She made many friends working for Mercy and through Charles’ work at ALA. Those friends whom she made now mourn her, as she become close to many over the years. She finally decided to retire in 2012 saying that she had worked long enough.
Judy had a passion for all things forensic, like the ID channel, and the many trials she watched over the years. She devoured her mysteries and detective stories. She was single-mindedness of purpose, a little opinionated, and you knew where you stood with her. A conservative at heart, she loved Rush Limbaugh, but was fair minded and even put up with Charles’ normally middle of road (she saw as ultra-liberal) notions. She was generous to the hilt, compassionate with her causes, and dedicated to her family and friends. Wherever she travelled, she had a knack for creating her own unique adventures, exploring new places, and making new friends as she went.
She will be missed by everyone she touched.
Judy desired cremation and no memorial service. Davenport Funeral Home and Crematory in Crystal Lake, IL will handle the cremation.
Donations can be made in her name to the following: The Association for Library Services & Technical Services (ALCTS) a division of the American Library Association, www.ala.org/alcts; Helping PAWS of Woodstock, IL, www.helpingpaws.net; and His Cherished Ones, a home for abandoned babies in Kenya, www.hischerishedoned.org
Judy is survived by her husband, Charles Wilt, Cary, IL; her daughter Kris and her husband, Barry Heslop, Houston, TX; two grandsons, Creighton Heslop, Houston, and Austin Wilt, Philadelphia, PA; and Larry Zollars, her brother of Wichita, KS; and a host of friends and colleagues whom she came to know over the years.
Judith Ann Ruark Wilt (Zollars) was born in St. Petersburg, FL April 13, 1946 to Millard and Emma Jean Zollars while her father Millard served in the Coast Guard. They soon moved to Kansas where Judy was raised in Harper, just south of Wichita. The farm life made her the independent and self-sufficient woman she became. Graduating from Harper High School, she really wanted to be an airline stewardess (so named in the mid-1960’s) but an unsympathetic father, who said she wouldn’t be a waitress in the air, had other ideas. Judy, being the practical person everyone knew, decided nursing was the course to take. She graduated from St. Francis Nursing School in Wichita and embarked on a 45 year career as an RN. She worked in many areas of nursing over the years from psychiatric (she always said she had the scars to prove it) to OB-GYN to insurance to internal medicine finally as a float nurse for Mercy Clinics in McHenry County, Illinois. She loved her many patients over the years.
Her first of three marriages was rewarded with her daughter, Kris, whom she was immensely proud, having achieved much as a physical therapist and athletic trainer. Always concerned about Kris’ best interest, Judy was very happy when Kris married Barry Heslop, an attorney in Houston. They have subsequently presented the doting grandparents with a son, Creighton, in February, 2014. Judy was most proud of Creighton, a charming lad with an endearing smile even at this early age. It is sad that she had so little time to spoil him.
In 1997, she met Charles Wilt. He was never quite sure if he was the knight in shining armor, but their first meeting at a Barnes & Noble in Arlington, TX convinced him she was for him. They were, for the record, an early internet match (which now seems rather commonplace). It, of course, took a while to commit, having both been through divorces and being rather cautious. When Charles took a job in Chicago at the American Library Association in 1999, he convinced her moving to Chicago was a good idea despite the weather. She agreed. In 2002, they were married in Charleston, SC with her daughter, Kris, a friend Trena Ivy, and his son Erich in attendance. Judy was the perfect complement. She made many friends working for Mercy and through Charles’ work at ALA. Those friends whom she made now mourn her, as she become close to many over the years. She finally decided to retire in 2012 saying that she had worked long enough.
Judy had a passion for all things forensic, like the ID channel, and the many trials she watched over the years. She devoured her mysteries and detective stories. She was single-mindedness of purpose, a little opinionated, and you knew where you stood with her. A conservative at heart, she loved Rush Limbaugh, but was fair minded and even put up with Charles’ normally middle of road (she saw as ultra-liberal) notions. She was generous to the hilt, compassionate with her causes, and dedicated to her family and friends. Wherever she travelled, she had a knack for creating her own unique adventures, exploring new places, and making new friends as she went.
She will be missed by everyone she touched.
Judy desired cremation and no memorial service. Davenport Funeral Home and Crematory in Crystal Lake, IL will handle the cremation.
Donations can be made in her name to the following: The Association for Library Services & Technical Services (ALCTS) a division of the American Library Association, www.ala.org/alcts; Helping PAWS of Woodstock, IL, www.helpingpaws.net; and His Cherished Ones, a home for abandoned babies in Kenya, www.hischerishedoned.org
Judy is survived by her husband, Charles Wilt, Cary, IL; her daughter Kris and her husband, Barry Heslop, Houston, TX; two grandsons, Creighton Heslop, Houston, and Austin Wilt, Philadelphia, PA; and Larry Zollars, her brother of Wichita, KS; and a host of friends and colleagues whom she came to know over the years.
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