I took my last vacation of the year last week, but I’ll tell you about that next week.
We left for Newport Beach on Saturday morning with news that we had lost a really dear friend, Judy Confer, the long-time executive director of the L. Alan Cruikshank River of Time Museum.
Her longtime partner, Steve Busker, called to inform us that she had passed away Friday night in a hospice facility in Scottsdale.
We last saw Judy the prior Sunday after she had been placed in hospice. She had not been in good health for several years. She often commented she felt dizzy. Doctors diagnosed her as having diabetes. She began taking medication to treat that, but the dizziness never went away.
When we went to see her, she was sleeping. The director of the hospice facility took us in to see her. She awoke when he said, “Judy, you have friends here to see you.”
She raised her head from the pillow and briefly flashed that Judy smile we were used to seeing on her face. She tried to say something, but no words ever came out. Then she lowered her head back down onto the pillow and she was asleep within seconds. That was the last time our eyes ever made contact.
I first met Judy at a Women’s Club Bazaar where she had a booth back in the early mid-1990s. From that first meeting, it was like I had known her all my life. But she was like that with everyone she met.
An interior designer by trade, she was a graduate of the University of Illinois and also attended classes at the University of Madrid. After moving to Arizona, her interest in history and design prompted her to join the Fountain Hills & Lower Verde Valley Historical Society.
Judy served three terms on the board and was most active with the Museum Design Committee. She contributed many volunteer hours in the creation of exhibits during the construction phase.
When the museum’s original volunteer Director Jerry Wilhelm resigned due to illness, Confer volunteered to take his place. She was accepted and later became the permanent paid director. After its opening, she worked diligently to get the word out on the new northeast valley museum attraction.
She became a member of the Museum Association of Arizona and the Central Arizona Museum Association.
Her hard work was rewarded when the Arizona Historical Society honored the River of Time Museum with “certified museum status” just nine months after its opening. Certification generally takes up to five years. It was her endless energy and enthusiasm for what we had put together and making that known in the Arizona museum community caused that to happen.
Another accomplishment was in the days when the museum was being built, she decided to apply for federal monies for the soon-to-be museum. She approached her friend and now Historical Society vice president, Anne Wickland, to work with her on the application. They and another Historical Society board member, Beth Schafe, successfully applied for a $50,000 LSTA grant. The only stumbling block was that our librarian signed the application rather than the Maricopa County Library System librarian needed to sign it, and he refused.
Another project she asked Anne to help her with was the establishment of a docent program. By the time the museum was opened, it had some 30 trained volunteers, ready to tell the River of Time story.
Judy received the Legacy Award from the River of Time Museum Foundation in 2011 and was also honored by the Four Peaks Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for her work in bringing the people of Fort McDowell and Fountain Hills closer together.
Fountain Hills Historical Society President Debbie Skehen said, “What Judy has done in building better relations between the two communities has been nothing short of remarkable. Whether it has been through attending tribal council meetings or stopping at a roadside stand she has built up a trust with the people of Fort McDowell.”
Yes, I have nothing but good memories of Judy Starr Confer. I miss the tasty brownies and lemon bars she would drop off at my office frequently.
After she stepped down as the museum’s executive director in August 2013, the museum’s board decided to name the orientation room in her honor.
A Celebration of Her Life will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 5:30 p.m. at the museum. You are all invited.
