It was always about the kids.
Did they have enough bait? Were they getting enough to eat and drink? Was everyone wearing sunscreen? Could you hear laughter?
Donna Judge fussed like a mother hen each time she presided over the Joe Judge Fishing Derby, a day on the Chesapeake Bay for children and parents grieving the loss of a family member. The quiet little ones -- the tough customers -- got her undivided attention.
She had one day on the water each year to make a difference for those kids, and she worked it like it was her last.
On March 17, Judge died of cancer, a tough customer who wouldn't take no for an answer. She was 56.
Judge started the derby in 2000 and named it for her husband, an avid outdoorsman who died of cancer in January 1999 at 58.
Joe Judge owned Twin Ponds Duck Club, an Eastern Shore hunting lodge, won the 1986 Bahamas Billfish Championship and was a longtime friend to conservation groups. Donna Judge, an angler with international titles of her own, always insisted that her late husband was "right here on my shoulder" as the inspiration for the derby.
But as a driving force at Queen Anne's County Hospice, her efforts went far beyond that event. She helped create Camp New Dawn, a weekend sleepover camp on Kent Island for youngsters whose family members have died, and the Hospice Gala to raise money.
She was instrumental in getting land donated for the county's hospice center. A chunk of her heart, however, was always reserved for the derby and the people who made it possible.
Capt. Jim Brincefield donated his charter boat. In the days leading up to the event, Capt. Mark Galasso scouted for a can't-miss fishing spot. Coastal Conservation Association members, led by Sherm and Diane Baynard, acted as one-on-one first mates for the kids. And Harris Crab House on Kent Island served up a dockside cookout after the outing.
Judge was diagnosed in December 2004. Chemotherapy left her too weak to be on deck for last August's shindig. We all felt her absence.
The derby will go on this year, with one small change. On Aug. 2, a group of youngsters and their family members will take a boat ride, go fishing and have a cookout.
They will be the first participants in the Donna and Joe Judge Fishing Derby.
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