Lewis Judd

Lewis Dean Judd, 96, passed away on Saturday, September 22, 2018, at Pine Haven Care Center. Lewis Dean Judd was born on August 10, 1922, in Mazeppa, MN, to William F and Josephine A (Roland) Judd. He graduated from Mazeppa High School in 1940, then attended Winona State College, Gustavus Adolphus, and then Notre Dame University military officer's school. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. Ensign Judd was stationed on an ammunition supply vessel in the South Pacific during World War II. After the war, Lew returned to Minnesota and to farming. He met Janice Ellen Nelson through their sisters who worked together in Downtown Rochester. Lew and Jan wedded on January 7, 1950 at the Lutheran Church in Rochester. Together, they worked a farmstead in the rural Rochester area and raised crops, livestock, and puppies for several years in the 1950's. Lew changed careers in 1956 when IBM opened a plant in Rochester. He worked as Manufacturing and Quality engineer at IBM for 28 years, and then retired in 1984. In retirement, Lew pursued his passion of trap shooting fulltime. He competed at clay pigeon target shooting in the Southern Minnesota area - Rochester, Pine Island, Dodge Center, Owatonna, Blooming Prairie, and Minneapolis were among his favorites. In the winter months, Lew and Jan resided in Phoenix, AZ to practice and compete in target shooting, and to enjoy the weather! Lew was an inaugural lifetime member at Pine Island White Pines Sportsman's Club. His dream was to be a champion trap shooter, and he attained that distinction twice at the National Competition in Vandalia, OH. Along the way, he was named to the Minnesota State Trap Shooting team 12 times, including ten consecutive years, and was honored by the Amateur Trapshooting Association as an All -American in 1988 and 1992. Lew was an avid outdoorsman and woodsman - he enjoyed fishing, hunting, gardening, and gathering fire wood. The family had a cabin on Crooked Lake near Deerwood, MN from 1968 to 1980, where all of the family's favorite pastimes were realized. Lew is preceded in death by his parents, William and Josephine Judd; older sister Evelyn (Richard) Tarara; younger brother Haven Judd; younger sister Donna (Harleth Whitey) Swanson; and Janice, his wife of 66 years, until her passing in 2016. Lew is survived by son Bruce Judd of Round Lake, IL; son Jeff (Sonja) Judd of Oronoco, MN; sister Jeanette (Dr. Charles) Schlotthauer of Rochester; three grand-daughters Lindsey (Josh) Weber of Gilbert, AZ, Dr. Brianna (Yalcin) Oksal of Woodbury, MN, and Andrea Judd (Dr. Chris Kasal) of Vasa, MN; and three great grand-daughters Brooklyn Weber, Katelyn Weber, and Madelyn Weber, all of Gilbert, AZ. The family would like to thank the Mayo Clinic staff; and Samaritan Bethany, Homestead, and Pine Island Care Centers for their excellent care and rehabilitation programs. Special thanks go out to Heartland Hospice for their outstanding care in making Lew comfortable as he transitioned to his next chapter. The funeral service will be Saturday, September 29, 2018 at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home at 5421 Royal Pl NW in Rochester at 11:00 AM, with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM. Interment at Grandview Memorial Gardens will follow the service.