Judy Fletcher remembered for vibrant smile, positive attitude

[Stan]

It was not just her smile that made Judy Fletcher special.

But she had a wide, welcoming, vibrant smile that lit up an entire room.

An ear-to-ear smile that said, "I enjoy life and I am so very glad to see you."

The infectious smile was the outward symbol of a woman who cherished family and welcomed friends and strangers, said dozens of those friends and family members who almost filled the sanctuary at the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church for her funeral Thursday.

Fletcher, 51, died a week ago in her home, likely from a heart attack. She was born and lived most of her life in Lincoln, except for a few years she spent in Jamaica.

She was studying at Southeast Community College to be a substance abuse counselor.

She planned to transfer to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a four-year degree and someday go back to SCC as a teacher, said longtime friend Jake Jacobi.

Fletcher also was part of Lincoln's 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous community, turning the addiction of her early years into an asset that allowed her to help others.

Fletcher was a hippy at heart, but too young to have been at the summer of love in San Francisco. She loved the Grateful Dead, beads, bangles and the peace symbol, said Jacobi, who gave her eulogy.

Much of it was a eulogy Fletcher wrote as part of a class on grieving at SCC.

Jacobi and Fletcher had been friends for 35 years. But the original version of her eulogy said "friends for 60 years."

"That's because she did not expect to be leaving us this soon."

She loved planting flowers with her mom. She loved camping, fishing and bugs.

"How she loved those bugs," Jacobi said, recalling how she called a friend in Hawaii to fill him in on Amanda, a praying mantis living in her fern.

"And, man, she loved to laugh," he said.

When Fletcher walked into a room, she could change the whole atmosphere, said SCC student Brenda Mites.

If someone was down, Fletcher would suggest they keep a list of things they were grateful for in a notebook, then refer to it for inspiration and strength, Mites said.

Fletcher was a volunteer and then a paid part-time staffer at St. Monica's, a substance abuse program for women.

The women she worked with there looked forward to "their Judy shift," said executive director Mary Barry Magsamen. "She was amazing, that huge smile, her arms out for a hug."

Fletcher was a role model for women learning to live without drugs and alcohol, she said, and she was a straight shooter.

"If someone was being whiny, she would tell them to knock it off."

Fletcher would have been a wonderful counselor, said Veronica Jones, who teaches at SCC.

"She had such an intuitive nature and a love for people. She would have been able to help people deal with all their issues."

This week friends remembered the hallmark Fletcher greeting -- walking toward them, arms outstretched saying, "Come to Judy. Let me give you some love."

On Thursday, they sent her off with love and a spontaneous standing ovation as her casket left the sanctuary. SOURCE

[Gail]

Just from the look on her face I would have liked to have known her.