Judith Myers Fitch
Judith Evelyn Myers Fitch, of Holbrook, passed away Sunday, November 22, 2020, in her home, with her friend and caretaker, Colleen Nelson, by her side. Born March 10, 1940, in Washington, she was the first child of the late Stanley Swart Myers and Violet Durbin Myers.
She graduated from Trinity High School in 1957 and then attended the University of Pittsburgh before her marriage in 1960 to William Tecumseh Sherman Fitch of Washington. They had four children, Eric Morrison Fitch and Colin Emerson Fitch (both born in 1961), William Tecumseh Sherman Fitch III (born 1963) and Hilary Durbin Fitch (1965-1989).
Judith finished her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963.
After her divorce in 1967, she moved to New York City, where she worked in the Madison Avenue advertising business in the office of Jane Trahey. She then became a world traveler, trekking through Europe in 1970 and South America in 1971-1973. In 1974, she completed a Master’s degree in Art History at Pitt on shamanism and Olmec art.
Judith’s mother, Violet grew up in Bristoria, where the Durbin family had deep roots, and Judith moved back to Greene County in 1975 and purchased the home in Holbrook where she would spend the rest of her life. She studied massage therapy and became a body worker whose proficiency was appreciated by many sore backs in Greene County; she was skilled in shiatsu and reiki and was an enthusiast of Bach flower remedies.
Judith loved music, played the piano with flair, and had a beautiful singing voice. Later in life she bought and sold antiques, art and clothing at fairs and festivals such as Starwood, where she was a regular fixture, and she maintained a small antique and clothing shop in Rogersville.
Judith had a wide circle of friends and was beloved of many in Greene County, Morgantown, W.Va., and beyond. Her winter solstice bonfire parties were an annual highlight of the Christmas season in the community for three decades.
Judith had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2010, but was successfully treated at the West Virginia University Cancer Center in Morgantown for a decade and continued living a full life. During this period her devoted friend, Colleen R. Nelson of Holbrook became her helper and finally, live-in caretaker. She finally succumbed to cancer, peacefully asleep in her own home, on Sunday.
She is survived by her brother, Stanley “Skip” Myers Jr. and his wife, Terrie; two grandchildren, Thomas Edward and Erin Hilary Fitch, the children of her son, Eric and his wife, Kathy Hutchison Fitch, of Pittsburgh; and two further sons and their wives, Colin and Renee Zimmer Fitch of Washington, and Tecumseh Fitch and Gesche Westphal-Fitch of Vienna, Austria.
She was predeceased by her daughter, Hilary (of cystic fibrosis); and her parents.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no funeral, but a memorial celebration of her life is planned sometime in 2021.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, www.cff.org/give-today/, or the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org/involved/donate.html. Friends are urged to upload their memories and photos at www.kestersonfh.com/obituaries/Judith-Myers-Fitch