Judith Roberta Overman Munn was born October 7, 1941 and passed away September 3, 2019 at Crista Skilled Nursing Center in Shoreline, where she was cared for with great skill and love
Judi was preceded in death by her beloved husband John H.Munn, also her sister Janet L. Covington, and her father & mother, Robert and Jesse Posther Overman
Judi loved with all her heart
Judi gloried in spending time in God‘s beautiful creation that surrounds us
Judi cherished her friends old and new
Judi held her responsibility for caring for our lovely planet & being an Earth Steward in high regard, as a mandate from God & she cares for our lovely earth even with her bequests
Judi loved all her pets and most recently her dear Cashie
Judi was a lovely, giving, gentle, and passionate soul, very accomplished in the business world yet so humble and quiet spirited
Judi’s spirit and essence was truly one of love, strength, tenderness, adventure, and inspiring others to develop a sense of wonder & to care for Mother Earth. She cherished beauty and simplicity. Her spiritual path and her relationship with God was one of the most important parts of her earth journey.
Her loving parents introduced her to her spiritual path that would evolve deeply throughout her life. Early on, Judi‘s parents instilled within her and her sister, a deep love and appreciation for animals and our natural world. They were close, and together they would spend endless hours exploring nature with awe and wonder. At 3 years old, they took Judi and her sister in their canoe to quietly observe and appreciate nature. At 4 years old, the family rescued raccoons, and a groundhog from the treetops due to high water at a nature preserve. For 17 years the family vacationed in the beautiful UP of Michigan (upper peninsula.) In winter, Judi loved to ice skate at Island Park at night with her family on the lagoons.
Judi fell asleep each night in the log cabin with a deep, deep contentment, sniffing the aroma of the sweet scents produced by the Northern Pines.
The family would venture out before dawn in their boat, rain or shine, to see the beauty of the new day unfold. Sometimes, she would go and sit quietly amongst the pine trees, looking up into the sky, and puffy clouds, and sun, and give thanks to God for life itself, and for the beauty of His creation. She called it God’s Cathedral. For many years, her father took their family by moonlight across the bay to marvel at the magnificent open sky and stars and moon.
The National Aullwood Nature Center Was a very important part of Judi’s life for a long time
From age 5 to age 17, she sang in the Grace United Methodist Church choir & General Motors Children’s Chorus. She also attended ballet, piano, and art classes, and was a Candy Striper in the hospital started by her mother. She attended Camp Miniwanca of the American Youth Foundation.
As a child, Judi’s heroes were Dale Evans and Roy Rogers. She even had a Dale Evans blouse and skirt. She also liked Bing Crosby and had an autographed picture from Bing Crosby, “To Judith – Bing”
Judi graduated from Bowling Green State University with a BA in journalism & English literature. She received her MA in Management from Central Michigan. Her career path was in public relations and marketing in Wisconsin, Florida, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City and finally Seattle where she was manager of corporate communications. She then became the first director of the Edmonds Conference Center.
Judi’s love of nature continued to deepen even more when she traveled with her beloved husband John, who was the state Naturalist for WSU. Judi and John traveled extensively on nature photo trips in Washington state, Oregon, The Grand Tetons (where they also took an exciting dogsled ride) Hawaii, and other places. They snowmobiled one Christmas through Yellowstone to photograph animals and the wonders of the natural world. For 3 years, they photographed Orca whales, seals and other mammals, and camped on a small island near Northern Vancouver Island. Here, they listened to the blowing of the Orca whales as they passed for most the night. In the Pacific Grove area near Monterey, they marveled as they photographed hundreds of Monarch butterflies wintering over. They also enjoyed many kayak trips photographing sea otters and sea lions.
Judi climbed Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, and Mount Baker with her husband. On top of Mount Rainier, above a sea of clouds, she could see for miles and miles, her heart and spirit were filled with awe and wonder. She looked all around and felt like she could see the landscape of her life. Part of her mountain climbing training was to be lowered down 75 feet into a huge ice crevasse, then climb out!
Judi & John had a custom home and nature retreat center built on 5 acres in Snohomish county. It was called SunStar. Periodically they offered various nature seminars and other events. At night from their bed at SunStar, they heard thousands of frogs chorusing each night and the howl of the wily coyotes. Many deer came and graced their retreat, the deer even had twins for 3 years in a row under the cedar trees nearby. Judi & John were also frequently visited by curious raccoons
Judi is a past volunteer for Unity of Lynnwood, The Audubon Society, and was a reading tutor for kindergartners. She also helped to clean birds after an oil spill during Christmas week
One of the most important moments in Judi‘s life happened when she was on interstate 5 early one morning. She saw two deer in the middle of northbound I-5. She pulled over and got out. Then she began to slowly and quietly walk towards them and talked with them. She motion with her hand “no, no, come this way“ she did this many times and finally they came towards her and went on and jumped over a fence. She looked back and the traffic had stopped several yards back. It seems like angels had held the cars back. Judi always called it her angel story and she knew, without a doubt, that she had been led to help the beautiful deer.
It was during this time, when her spiritual journey deepened even more and deep in her heart she felt and knew that she was never more fulfilled than in her longing for God, when God met her by His presence, every morning, in her quiet time of devotion
Judi so cherished her dear family and friends who were ever present & faithful. She also cherished the leadership of Matthew and Dr. Richard
One of her most beloved, faithful, loving creatures was Cashie, “Joy Boy“… A Pembroke Welsh Corgi… He was one of her most loving relationships and as someone once said “Cashie is a beautiful soul in a dogs body”
Judi will be sorely missed by all who knew & loved her
The memorial service will be held September 21, 2019 at 4 PM. unity of Lynnwood- 16727 Alderwood Mall Parkway, Lynnwood, WA 98037