Judy A. Gavin

With heavy hearts and deep love, we announce the passing of Judy Ann Bates Gavin, who left this world peacefully on October 1, 2025. Judy was born to Harold and Edna Bates in Goshen, Indiana, on August 19, 1943. Judy spent the majority of her life in and around Marcellus, Michigan—a place she called home and one filled with love, laughter, and the smells of good things to eat! In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by eight sisters.

Judy was the devoted wife of John Gavin Sr., the love of her life, who passed in 2004. Together, they built a beautiful life and a growing family that brought her endless pride and joy. She was the loving mother of four children—Karen Gavin-McCarthy (Phil), John Gavin Jr. (Linda), and Kelly Ward (L.T.), and the late Suzanne Beurmann (Denny), with whom she shared a birthday and a deep bond that transcends time. She was a grandmother to ten, a great-grandmother to nine—and if you asked her, she’d tell you the great-grandchildren had her whole heart (just don’t tell the others). Among them, her granddaughters Mary and Elizabeth held a special place. Elizabeth loved baking her favorite chocolate chip and molasses cookies and cherished time spent with her watching their favorite shows (Tom and Jerry and Jimmy Neutron), feeding the birds, singing songs, and helping plant flowers. Mary just loved her grandma and often escaped downstairs to spend quality time with her watching TV and baking cookies.

Their presence in her life inspired Judy to become a special needs school bus aide later in life—a job she loved more than any other. It was in this role that her nurturing nature, patience, and love truly shone. Judy’s life was filled with simple joys and special traditions. Her cookie and candy jars were never empty—always stocked with homemade cookies, fig newtons, or smarties. She loved quilting, sewing, cooking, gardening, and feeding the birds—especially hummingbirds, who seemed to know her by name and visited her feeders faithfully. She was known fondly as "the hummingbird whisperer." She loved a good game of Yahtzee (she always won), her church community, her ever devoted and helpful nieces and nephews, and never missed a chance to share a laugh. When her eldest granddaughter's favorite Vienna bread stopped being sold, she cleverly crafted fake labels to keep the tradition alive—just one of many examples of her wit and resourcefulness. Her grandsons dared her to drink something called Yeager Bombs--they should have known to never dare grandma! All of her grands loved her and have cherished memories of her buying them their 1st school outfit to long talks over a steaming bowl of homemade goulash— times never to be forgotten.

Judy’s legacy is one of unwavering love, humor, resilience, and the kind of deep, abiding care that only a mother and grandmother can give. Her family will remember her laughter, her warmth, her stories, and her deep devotion to those she loved most. Upon cremation, Judy will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband and near her eldest daughter, Suzanne—a quiet reunion of hearts that were never truly apart. She will be missed dearly and remembered always.

A Memorial Service for Judy will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2025 beginning at 11:00 am at Newburg Norton Bible Church, 11256 Hoffman St. Marcellus, MI 49067 with Pastor John Sears officiating.