Obituary of Celeste M. Judge

Mrs. Celeste M. Judge, 67, of Ocala, FL, passed away suddenly on February 5th, 2023. She was born on October 27th, 1955, to Corrine A. Rally in Waltham, MA. She graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Lawrence, MA, in 1974. It was during her time at St. Mary’s that she met the love of her life, Brian J. Judge, whom she married in 1985 after a “brief” hiatus. 

Celeste studied Travel and Tourism at McIntosh College in Dover, NH, and devoted much of her life to seeing the world, usually with close friends and family members in tow, and often with an eye out for the best nearby beach. As a United Services Organization (USO) tour guide in Germany, Celeste conducted tours around Europe for military service members. Most recently she worked as a travel agent for cruise vacations. Fittingly, she passed while waiting to fly home from her most recent cruise!

She lived up and down the east coast, in Italy, in Germany, and even in Las Vegas. She made new friends quickly and was great at keeping in touch. Celeste loved playing host to friends for cards, board games, holidays, etc., and she was passionate about serving them home-cooked specialties. No one ever left her house hungry. In recent years, she took up crafting custom wreaths, jewelry, and quilts, and she took great pride in gifting her favorite pieces to the family that she so dearly loved.

Celeste is survived by her husband of 37 years, Brian, of Ocala, FL; her daughter Joan C. Paxton and her soon-to-be husband Alan J. Booker, of Fort Worth, TX; her son Jonathan B. Judge and his wife Courtney S., of West Hartford, CT; her daughter Korin M. Judge and her partner Bryan A. Burkholder, of St. Petersburg, FL; her mother Corrine, of Hampstead, NH; her brother Spero J. Rally and his wife Lisa M. Clancy, of Hampton, NH; her sister Sacristy J. Skafas and her husband Scott E., of Hampstead, NH; her granddaughter Katherine, her nephew Riley, her nieces Kathleen and Mikayla; and her Saint Bernard Theodore M. Baer of St. Petersburg, FL. Relatives and friends are invited to a viewing on Thursday, February 23rd, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by a celebration of Celeste’s life at 1 p.m., at Hiers-Baxley TimberRidge, 9695 SW 110th Street, Ocala, FL 34481.

Family and friends are welcome to view the live stream at Tribucast.

https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/7283924247

Memorial contributions in memory of Celeste may be made to the USO at https://www.uso.org/donate/donate-in-honor, or to the American Red Cross at https://www.redcross.org/donations/ways-to-donate/tributes.html.