Julia "Judy" Ferraro

Judy Ferraro, 76, of Methuen passed away on Thursday, June 14th, 2018 at the Wingate Skilled Nursing Facility in Haverhill after a long illness.

Judy was born on February 7, 1942 during a blizzard at the family home in Lawrence to the late Fiore (Phil) and Grace (Jalbert) Ferraro.

Judy graduated with honors from Lawrence High School with the Class of 1959. She also attended Bryant-McIntosh School of Business, 1961 and Saint John’s Hospital Registered Medical Technologist Program. She worked for the accounting offices at Sears Roebuck in Lawrence and Malden Mills in Methuen. After becoming a Medical Technologist, she worked for Chelmsford Medical Lab, Lowell General Hospital and retired from New England Allergy and Immunology, working for Dr. Thomas Johnson for 20 plus years.

Judy loved cats and spent many hours volunteering at the MSPCA. She loved to play the lottery and enjoyed her trips to Foxwoods Casino. She loved to travel. Her most memorable trips were to the South Pacific, where she snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef and the Far East, where she walked part of the Great Wall of China. Knowing Judy, she left her mark by carving her initials somewhere along the Great Wall. She was a past member of the Appalachian Mountain Climbers Association. Her favorite climbs were Mt. Chocorua and Mt. Washington.

Judy loved her family. Though she never had children of her own, she was very involved in the lives of her niece and nephews. She was her grand nephew’s biggest fan, cheering him on at all his Special Olympics sporting events.

When diagnosed with cancer in 2016, she remained dedicated in her will to fight her illness. She remained a brave, iron willed woman even throughout her final months. We will all miss her dearly.

The Ferraro family would like to thank the entire staff under the supervision of Dr. Ankur Mehta and Dr. David Goff at Dana Farber Community Cancer Care at Holy Family Hospital, the staff of Unit C at the Wingate Skilled Nursing Facility in Haverhill and Merrimack Valley Hospice for the wonderful care, kindness and compassion they gave Judy throughout her illness.

She was predeceased by her brother Anthony (Butch) Ferraro.

Judy is survived by her brother Angelo Ferraro and his wife Carolyn of Ellsworth, Maine. Her sister Loretta Cardone and her husband Ugo of Methuen and her sister-in-law Maureen Ferraro of Amesbury. She is also survived by her niece, several nephews, grand nephews, cousins and close friends.

Judy will be sadly missed by her dearest friend of over 40 years, Betsy Cote of North Andover.

At Judy’s request services will be private and held at a later date. Assisting the family with the arrangements is the Dewhirst & Boles Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to Merrimack Valley Hospice, 360 Merrimack Street, Building 9, Lawrence, MA 01843.

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