On April 6, 2024, Judith Anne Hullin, beloved sister, mother, and grandmother, passed away peacefully at home on Mercer Island at the age of 81.
Judith was born in Cordova, Alaska on October 7, 1942, where her parents, John and Judy Borseth, managed a salmon cannery during World War II. After the family moved to Seattle, she attended View Ridge Elementary School, Eckstein Middle School, Roosevelt High School, and Whitman College, before graduating from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Mathematics in 1966.
She began a career as a computer programmer, one of relatively few women in the field at the time, first at Boeing and later for many years at the Washington Natural Gas Company. In the years leading up to Y2K, she played a key role in preventing computer malfunctions that could have brought about the end of the world, or at the very least, delays in the dispatch of gas bills.
An avid and accomplished skier, Judith met Dezso George-Falvy in the lift line at White Pass in 1962. They ended up sharing a lot more than a chair ride. The couple were married in 1963 and settled on Mercer Island. They had two children, Jane and Dean, and remained married for 17 years.
In the late 1980s, Judith reconnected with David Hullin, a United Methodist Church pastor and a childhood friend from View Ridge, after their parents had become neighbors again in a retirement community. Judith and Dave were married in 1989 and enjoyed 33 happy years together until Dave’s passing in 2022.
Judith became an active member of the United Methodist community, first in the Delridge neighborhood of Seattle and later on Mercer Island. She reinvigorated the choir, spent Wednesdays weeding the garden, served on the finance committee, and supported the church in many other ways. She volunteered for Mary’s Place, tutored math students, battled the scourge of tobacco as a Smokenders instructor, and was an ardent supporter of Planned Parenthood.
She shared her husband Dave’s passions for golf and the Seattle Mariners, each of which brought joy and sorrow in roughly equal measures. From her mother, she acquired a sharp mind for Scrabble, which always spelled trouble for her opponents.
Judith took exceptional pride in her Norwegian heritage. Together with her sister Jeri and brother Jay, she bravely revived an annual family tradition of ingesting lutefisk on Christmas Eve. She played an active role in the Sons of Norway Lodge, took every opportunity to wear her traditional bunad, marched in the Syttende Mai parade in Ballard, and deepened ties with relatives in the old country. Echoes of this Nordic past could also be found in her wry and understated sense of humor.
Judith was relentlessly upbeat, always believing in “the power of positive parking” which gave her an uncanny ability to find a parking place right next to her destination. She believed wholeheartedly that you can change your circumstances by changing your attitude – and lived that philosophy. Against all odds, she survived an aortic dissection in 2017 and thereafter lived each day grateful for the gift of life. She let people know how much they mattered and how their lives were full of possibility. Her kindness, gentleness, and giving spirit will be missed by all who knew her.
Judith was preceded in death by her husband Dave, her brother Jan, and her sister Jeralyn. She is survived by her brother Jay Borseth (Mary Lynn); her children Jane Reynolds (Craig) and Dean Falvy (Lisa); and grandchildren Jonathan Theodore, Miles Falvy, and Leo Falvy.
Judith will be remembered at a Memorial Service to be held at the Mercer Island United Methodist Church on Saturday, May 18th at 2 p.m. Refreshments will follow. Livestream information will be announced on Judith’s Facebook page. Please see In lieu of gifts and flowers, memorials in Judith’s name may be made to Mary’s Place or Planned Parenthood.