Barbara (Dedoes) Judge

A life-long lover of the natural world, her presence will forever be felt in the quiet of a woodlot or amongst the blooms of a wildflower garden.

Born on August 24, 1940 in Royal Oak, to Dena and Jimmy Judge, Barbara attended Berkley High School and later went on to graduate from Michigan State University with a degree in urban planning. After spending many years working for the city of Lansing in both the planning department and later as Director of the Lansing Senior Center, Barbara moved to Oregon where she obtained a master’s degree in history with an emphasis on historic preservation from Oregon State University.

With the wind at her back, Barbara the gypsy, as she called herself, traveled and lived all over the United States while writing about and photographing the various cultural landscapes found across the country. Always at her side, riding shotgun in her trusty Toyota Tacoma truck, was one of her dogs – Maggie, Liza, Bailey, Lil, Sal, or most recently, Daisy.

Barbara will be most remembered as being a storyteller. By researching the history of a place or thing, whether it was vernacular architecture, folk art, a primitive antique, a small rural town or something from the natural world, Barbara, through her writing and photos, sought to tell the story of that item and its place in the world. From the regions she called home – the Midwest, Upland South, Pacific Northwest, or the Desert Southwest – her work created a deep sense of place, of connection and belonging.

Much of her wisdom and knowledge in this area gained through time spent in the natural world.

Sharing her journey on the dirt path of wildness she embraced, were her children, Darcy (Mike) Costello, Kirk Dedoes; her late son, Erik Dedoes and Elizabeth (Bill) Weisberg; as well as grandchildren, Jimmy (Ashley) and Ryan Costello, Whitney Weisberg, Cassie Dedoes; and great-grandson, Jack Costello.

A Celebration of Life is to be held in Hancock, Michigan, summer of 2021, for immediate family members

Helping to shed light on the fact that life lives on through shared memories and love, these feelings burning brightly as stars in the darkened night sky.