Judy's Memorial

Judith Ann Marie Shepherd King

came into the world on June 29, 1951 kicking and screaming and left it on May 20, 2023 kicking and screaming.When Bernice Shepherd, brought her home, the first-time mother was faced with an infant who would not stop crying. Aunts, grandmothers, sisters in laws, strangers on the street watched perplexed as all entreaties to calm and quiet were rebuffed. No one knew what to do with her. And so it would remain for Judy’s life.

As a child, when her father Ferdinand Shepherd would come home from work to his family of five children Diane, Stephen, Andrew and James his first question was always “Where’s the ring leader”? the indisputable head of the tribe and the source of whatever bedlam was ensuing.

Judy took these same leadership qualities into the schoolyard and streets. Always in SP classes for the gifted and talented (without ever studying) she befriended children older than her and was the instigator for their activities. Judy was president of her senior class in 1969 in a majority white high school – Obama before Obama.

She began writing stories and books at a very young age and endeavored to decorate her bedroom in the Woodside Projects to make it stylish. At 12 she devoured Seventeen Magazine and waited for the fall issue so she could plan her wardrobe for her return to school. She made her own clothes and learned to knit and crochet. Writing, interior design and fashion – a love for beauty and art – are in her DNA.

When Judy was accepted to an Ivy League college her mother went to visit the high school advisor to get more information. The counselor told her that this would be a great place for her to find a husband, to which Bernice undoubtedly sucked her teeth and told her that her daughter wasn’t going to school to find a husband but to get an education.

And with that off she went to the newly formed College at Old Westbury. Old Westbury attracted an older and diverse student body. There Judy learned to reject Western Civilization’s binary paradigm of either/or and adopted the world view of both and; became a pan Africanist; and embraced one of the great religions of the world – the Yoruba religion of the people of West Africa that is practiced in several forms throughout the African diaspora today. These became her foundational principles and guided a lifetime of serving to uplift people of African descent. After receiving her BA in 1973 she attended Fordham University and received a Masters in Special Education.

Locked and loaded, Judy went out into the world to pursue her life’s mission, education – or as she one day admitted – telling people what to do. She taught in several high schools for the New York City Board of Education for over 30 years and ended her career working with those designated as “special” a population she had a special love for.

Judy continued her education after the formal process ended. She always wanted to be better, become a better person. She found teachers who would provide a means of personal transformation, be it EST, Life Springs; or Queen Afua, Nafisa Shariff, Abdel Salaam, or Malidoma Some. She was always looking, always learning.

While maturing as an educator she met and fell in love with Leon King, whom unremarkably she met at a nightclub (Her mantra was party over here.) He was her lifetime partner and they married in 1978. With Leon at the helm, she not only achieved her vision of creating a home that is truly a work of art, but produced her gold – her son Shaka. In their home she and Leon entertained family and friends and she became the matriarch not only of her family, but to so many others who love her dearly.

Not content with the platform the Board of Education provided, and having a desire to educate beyond the classroom, Judy embarked on play writing. She wrote, and with her husband Leon, produced “Never Too Late Baby” and “Endangered Species. “Endangered Species” had multiple runs though out New York City and was seen by thousands, impacting the lives of audience members and the young actors who appeared in it.Her final work was the novel “Theresa” She endlessly tweaked it until her illness no longer allowed.

Beyond writing Judy loved the beach, the movies, attending theatre and art shows, making hats, clothes, bags, creating her own pieces of art, and making trips to her shrine, Home Goods. But most of all she loved being in her home surrounded by family and friends – holding court as it were - discussing politics, racial justice, history, philosophy, religion, spirituality, alternative health care, or any number of subjects that interested her. She also loved to laugh.

In 2019 Judy became seriously ill, but remarkably she never lost her glow, her desire to inform or be informed, and her need to connect people to other people so that their lives would be improved and they could meet their goals. She taught all who knew her lasting lessons in resilience, faith, hope and prayer. When anyone asked how she was she always replied “Getting better and better.”

Her spirit is indominable, inspirational indestructible. And if you quiet your mind and calm your spirit, you can hear her guiding you, telling you what to do.

With Gratitude We Want to thank Judy’s caregivers. She wouldn’t have – We wouldn’t have made it – without you.

Manette – for your Saturday morning parties with Felix Hernandez

Gigi - Who loved Judy like her own child – her own baby

Hamidou – who bought such joy and had her mosque in Ghana read the entire Koran for her

Ramidou- Hamidou’s daughter who Judy mentored and taught for as long as she could

Aisha – Hamidou’s other daughter who watched over Judy during her time at NYU

Stephon – who turned it up with Judy and let her beat him in checkers

Miriam – who brought her full skill set in treating Judy and teaching us

Joann – RN – rogue nurse who broke the hospital’s procedures and protocols when she recognized Judy’s spirit and drive and got her home to us after others had given up hope

Alicia and Felicia and so many more who stepped in when needed

Betty who came to New York multiple times to be with her sister from another mother to allow us some breathing room

Parris and Jelani – who literally lifted her up and kept her safe

Kim – who used her connections at the hospitals to make sure that the administrators knew that Judy was to be treated like royalty.

Craig, I want to thank Craig who never discouraged me from being with my sister at any time on any day and encouraged me during one of the most difficult times in life.

Leon and Shaka - You might ask why thank them.
Because people have choices and make all sorts of choices. And they chose her.
Leon never wavered in his commitment to Judy and Shaka earned the title MD Medical Director of Judy’s care. Their's was not weak love, this was love in action and deed that continues to inspire me.

And finally my deepest thanks to all the prayer warriors from all around the world with different religious beliefs who surrounded Judy with love and light and lifted her and the family up. You all taught me the power of prayer.