January 16, 2013

By Ronni Royal
Parishioner, St. Ann’s Wells

Pope Benedict XVI opened the Year of Faith Oct. 11, 2012 and will conclude it Nov. 24, 2013.  This Year of Faith is an opportunity for all of us to rediscover, to cultivate and to bear witness to our Catholic Faith.  My parish priest, Father Sony Pulickal of St. Ann’s Church in Wells, recently asked me to write about one of our local parishioners – Judee Lauria, whom I have known for close to 30 years.
---
Judee Repicky was born into a Polish/Catholic family, one of seven children in Westchester County.  Her father passed away when she was only eight years old.  As sad as she was, Judee never got angry with God.  Of the seven children, Judee seemed to be the one who accepted her gift of faith completely and seriously.  She has always had a close relationship with God and wanted to live her life pleasing Him.

Judee moved to Wells in 1978 and soon met and married Vincent Lauria who was raised in a good Italian Catholic family.  Together they had three sons,  Vinnie, Andrew and Keith.  God was always first and foremost in their lives.  They prayed together and always attended Sunday Mass. At that time, Judee was working as a nurse at Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville, NY.  In 1986, she returned to college and obtained her teaching degree in the sciences and education and later earned a master’s degree in reading. Judee left nursing to start a career in teaching at Lake Pleasant Central School in Speculator from 1996 until June of 2011.

One thing she really believed and taught her students is: “It’s all about love!” She loved her sons more than she ever imagined she could and she loved all her students as well.  Judee had always dreamt of becoming a missionary, and in many ways she was one.   During her life, she taught religious instructions at St. Ann’s; she started the Annual Thanksgiving Day dinner at the church and then volunteered for many years with her family delivering Thanksgiving dinners for The Equinox in Albany. 

She was a Cub Scout leader; volunteered at the summer recreation program and at Vacation Bible School; and was even a volunteer for “clean up” after one of the hurricanes in Fultonville NY some years ago.  Judee was an avid skier and then a snowboarder which she enjoyed doing with her children and students. She got her students involved in “Make A Wish” every Christmas at the school selling angels.  She also had her students deliver to shut-ins baked goods that she and her students made in class.

Judee lived a full life and had a lot of interests.  In 1995, her family went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje.  That trip turned out to be the trip of a lifetime! 

In 2001, Judee was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Of course she was scared, but her faith never wavered.  She had a mastectomy and under went chemotherapy and radiation.  Through it all, she prayed constantly to God to help her get through her illness.  She and Vince continued raising their boys and working and after nine years of remission, the cancer returned in Judee’s bones. 

As I write this, Judee is very sick and even close to death.  But amazingly her spirits are still high.  She is so brave.  When she’s in a lot of pain, she says she’s “offering it up” or “maybe this will help someone worse off.” She never wants to be thought of as not being able to handle this horrible disease with grace and she marches on praying every step of the way.  

As a family friend looking in from the outside, I am in total awe of Judee; such courage, such faith!  She has been such an inspiration to so many.  At one point she asked Father Sony what she could do to serve God better from her bed and he told her when she says the Rosary to draw a picture of a Rosary and write down a name next to each Hail Mary. That way she will be praying for and helping 50 people each time she says the Rosary. 

All three of her sons have the gift of faith thanks to their mother; how could they not? Judee has instilled in them her love of God, of the Blessed Mother and of the Eucharist.   Vinnie, the oldest, is married to Rachel and they have a son, “little Vinnie” (Judee’s first grandchild) who is 17 months old and another baby is on the way.  They are regular church goers and are a prayerful family. 

Andrew, the middle child, worked for the AmeriCorps and attended Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. He worked at Seton Catholic Central in Plattsburgh for several years but moved back home to help care for his mother when her health took a turn for the worse. 

Keith, the youngest, is an engineer who a few years ago went to “World Youth Day” in Madrid, Spain with his brother Andrew.  It was a very spiritual journey for both of them.  Keith’s favorite thing to do when he doesn’t have time for a whole Rosary is to say a Medjugorje chaplet.

As a mother and teacher, it was Judee who insisted on saying the daily Rosary until it became habit, not an easy task.  It was Judee who taught them to prayed to the Blessed Mother with prayer requests or pleas for help.  Judee has always had a high desire to receive Holy Communion.  And now, as sick as she is, she still manages to come to church in her wheelchair to receive Christ in the Eucharist. 

This Christmas, “The Wreath Lady” (a Christmas Tree business located across from the church) donated a beautiful, live Christmas tree to St. Ann’s church in Judee’s honor. What faith!  What trust in God!  I don’t know that I’ve ever witnessed such belief and faith from anyone, especially in a family of the 21st century dealing with Cancer and all the other problems families face, as I have in  Judee.  She’s not afraid to die because of her faith in what comes after physical death. 

I think Judee has truly spent her whole life cultivating her Catholic faith and bearing witness to it to her children, her husband and all who have crossed her path.  

If this is the Year of Faith,  I think Judee Lauria should be its “POSTER CHILD.” 

We could all learn so much from her.                           

Judee Lauria of St. Ann’s Parish in Wells is shown with her family.  In front are, Andrew and Keith; back, Vincent, Judee, Vinnie, Rachel and Little Vinnie