The world lost a bright light when Judith Anne Mitchell died suddenly of natural causes, on June 3, 2024. She was born in New York City to musical parents: her father, William, was a musicologist and professor at Columbia University; her mother, Adelheid (Wagner), was a concert pianist.
Judith demonstrated exceptional artistic ability when she was a little girl, beginning with drawing and later in her life branching out to pottery, painting, and jewelry. She attended St. Anne’s School for Girls and then graduated from Chatham College. She continued to take courses at Columbia as both an employee and the daughter of a professor.
She taught art at the Lenox School for Boys, breaking many hearts when she left after only two years, including that of one whom she would marry 30 years later. She returned to the Big Apple, where she worked at Columbia while developing a career as an illustrator in several genres.
In 1995 she reconnected with the aforementioned boy from Lenox. Within a year, they were married – the third for each – and were devoted to one another. During this time, Judith continued to demonstrate her love of learning and boundless curiosity, always reading at least two books at a time. She continued painting, began making beautiful necklaces and masks, and in her later years began writing and illustrating her own books.
Judith possessed an encyclopedic mind when it came to antiques, music, and art, and absolutely (and proudly) no facility whatsoever with anything technological, directing her bluest language at the computer.
She was intensely involved with animal rights, a staunch and outspoken Democrat, and, despite her diminutive size, unafraid to stand up for anything she believed in. As a partner, she was incredibly generous, once carrying a prepared dinner – pots, pans, and all – to her husband-to-be, by bus, when he was stranded 90 miles away by a broken-down car. She loved to laugh, and almost every evening was spent with Rick close together on the couch.
Predeceased by her parents; and her dear brother, Thomas; she leaves behind her brother’s children: Christopher, Amanda, and Andrew; and her great-nephew, Thomas; her stepchildren, Nick, Ashley, Edan; and her stepgrandson, Calai, all from her last marriage; and a small but devoted circle of friends. Finally, she leaves behind her husband of almost 28 years, Richard Horton, who loved her in the mid-1960s, adored her until her sudden death, and is once again brokenhearted at her departure.
A gathering to celebrate Judith’s life will be held on Oct. 25, 2025 at 1 p.m. If you know Judith’s friends, please contact them. For information about the celebration, please contact Rick at congame@roadrunner.com or text at 406-0710. The location will depend on the weather.
