With her two sons and beloved granddaughter by her side, Judith Moran passed away peacefully on December 29th, at Avita of Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Judy was born on June 2, 1941, in Haverhill, Massachusetts to mother, Elsie (Daniels) Flagg and father, Godfrey Flagg, grew up in a tight-knit Bradford neighborhood, and graduated from Haverhill High School in 1959. With her modest background and working summers in a local shoe factory providing perspective, Judy was the first of her family to attend college, graduating Sigma Cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire in 1963.
Judy married fellow UNH alumni Geoffrey Moran of Melrose, Massachusetts (deceased) and with their first son Matthew spent the next few years in Amherst supporting her husband in graduate school and earning her master’s degree in education. The young family moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where their second son Sean was born in 1969 and then to Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1970.
In 1973, as a young mother of two, Judy had the courage to file for divorce and begin life anew as a single, working mother. Judy worked full time teaching at Northern Essex Community College and co-chaired the Math Department, but always found time for sharing her warmth with friends and family at her home on #1 Fruit Street, the Grog, or at the beach. Her love of mathematics and commitment to teaching began at Northen Essex and was further inspired by her spending a sabbatical in Amherst in 1977 and later with a fellowship at Yale University.
Judy’s desire to be more involved in academics as well as her untiring work ethic and intellectual curiosity led her to move back to Amherst in 1981 to pursue a Doctorate in Mathematics at the University of Massachusetts. Judy was extremely busy teaching at Smith College and elsewhere, while also pursuing her degree, but was happy with her network of friends and spending time in the surrounding hills, at “fluid dynamics” at the Lord Jeff, or enjoying the cultural opportunities of the Pioneer Valley. Receiving her Doctorate in mathematics in 1990, Judy went on to further her career as a professor of mathematics at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. During her time as a professor, Judy was involved with setting quantitative literacy standards and developing engaging curriculum to foster an appreciation of mathematics by her students. She eventually combined her two lifelong loves of art and mathematics by studying the patterning of ornamental floor tiling of many cathedrals and other historic buildings in Europe. This work on tessellations was published on two continents and was instrumental in her receiving a fellowship abroad in Rome in 2005.
Throughout all these various chapters, Judy somehow found time to foster her love of travel and exposure to other cultures by traveling with friends or family to multiple countries in Europe, Central and South America, as well as National Parks across the US. During all of these travels, Judy’s good humor, cultural curiosity, and passion for adventure, made her a cherished traveling companion and she was always opening her door to host another friend or family member during her time in Rome.
Despite her cosmopolitan interests, Judy was perhaps happiest sharing simple times with friends and family by her flower garden at 238 East Pleasant Street in Amherst, Massachusetts. To best remember those cherished times, a celebration of Judy’s life and friendships will take place in Amherst at a time and place to be finalized and announced but to likely be around Memorial Day.
Judy is survived by her two sons Matthew and Sean who are eternally grateful for the opportunities to have successful lives in Boston and Montana provided by Judy’s unwavering commitment to them and her instilled values of kindness, empathy, tenacity, and the pursuit of knowledge of all kinds. Judy’s legacy is best exemplified by her granddaughter Merrimac Rose who graduated from UNH and attended the same sorority, Chi Omega, some 50 years later. Merrimac is also furthering her education (while working professionally full time) by graduating from George Washington University with her Masters of Arts in Media and Strategic Communications this May with honors, as inspired by her Grandmother’s exemplary success in life.