Mary “Judy” Simonson
Date Honored: February 2014
Mary Judith Simonson’s mother was named Mary Jane Gerlach and thus Mary Judith Gerlach was always called Judy. Judy graduated from South High School in Denver, Colorado. She immediately applied for a job at The Glenn L. Martin Company, now Lockheed Martin. Because she scored so well in speed and accuracy on her typing test, the recruiter offered to hire Judy one step higher than most applicants. Judy declined. She said she wanted to start at the bottom. This was typical of Judy. She was a very humble person who underestimated her outstanding skills and abilities.
Soon Judy became the sole support of her mother. They lived a very frugal life. During those years she rose to become one of only seven Executive Secretaries in the Denver Division. Judy’s biggest purchase was buying a home for herself and her mother in south Denver that included a garage to protect her car in the winter. They were now able to move from their rented home. About this same time, Judy loaned $30,000 interest-free to her boss to help him purchase his home. For some reason, Judy never felt she deserved interest.
Soon business at Martin Marietta took a turn for the worse and employment fell from more than 10,000 employees to about 3,500 over a period of several years. There was no money to pay employees overtime. So Judy would check out at quitting time and return to her desk to keep working. She worked hard, knowing she could not afford to be laid off.
Judy had a smile that would light up the room. It was just one of her many qualities that made her a popular addition to any scene. My first wife was killed in an automobile accident, and Judy and I were married in the fall of 1979. In the years following, Judy proved to be a generous and loving stepmother to my four children and a great partner to me.
Judy and I retired in 1993 after working 37 and 31 years, respectively, at Lockheed Martin. We celebrated our retirements with a trip to London and Paris. Nineteen years later Judy went into the hospital for minor surgery. As a result of the surgery, she developed a blood clot in her right ankle. When they performed a scan to see if the blood clot had spread to her lungs, they accidentally discovered cancer in her pancreas. It had already spread to other organs and was not operable. Although they tried to arrest the cancer with chemotherapy, it spread quickly, and she died in 2013. During those last few weeks Judy appeared more worried about her family around her than about her own impending death. She was such a loving, unselfish wife, and mother.
Not a day passes that I do not think about the great times we had together and how lucky I was to marry her. I can’t recall an angry word said between us in over 33 years of our marriage. When I made mistakes, as everyone does, she always corrected me in the gentlest manner. I never doubted her love for me or my love for her.
~ Gerry Simonson, husband