Obituary of Judy Record

    Judy Record, a longtime member and former chair of the Suffolk County Handicap Advisory Board (now known as the Suffolk County Disabilities Advisory Board), has passed away. She was 69.

    Her husband Gilbert Record said, “I’m still reeling from it. I miss her so much. We were so close for 41 plus years. It’s just very hard to get used to it. Judy always had a smile – always – and I never heard her say a bad word about anybody. She was just an upbeat positive person especially so even with all her aches and pains. I think I was very lucky to have her and I wish I had her longer.”

    Record said his wife had been dealing with health problems and visiting the hospital more often as she got older. 

    Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said, “Judy Record was one of Suffolk’s foremost advocates for the rights of the disabled and her tenacity and compassion will be missed.”

    Bruce Blower, founding director of the Suffolk County Office of Handicapped Services (now known as the Suffolk County Office for People with Disabilities) who is now retired said, “Judy was a remarkable advocate for people with disabilities. As a person with a disability, she was a real champion and pushed for the rights of the disabled in the early years, way before the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

    The Suffolk board was founded in 1975 and started meeting the following year. “Judy was one of the early members in the early days, before there were any laws protecting people against discrimination,” Blower said. “She was a real leader and she will be greatly missed.”

    Record fought for transportation accessibility – including work on Suffolk County Accessible Transportation (SCAT) services – and handicap parking spaces, which were established in Suffolk in 1982 before they were required by law. “Part of that was due to Judy’s efforts,” Blower said.

    Record was a longtime member of Handicapped Adults – New Directions in Suffolk (HANDS), where she held the positions of vice president and recording secretary.

    Tony Bifulco, a HANDS member and friend, wrote in an email, “From the moment you met Judy you would find she would remember everything you had discussed each time you met. She carried a calendar and notebook at all times and continuously added information to it. Judy knew everyone and all about their families and would keep in contact especially when someone was in need due to poor health, in need of financial support or special services.”

    “…she would take people to doctor’s appointments, shopping, HANDS meetings, cook healthy meals with all fresh ingredients, maintain her greenhouse and yard shrubs and gardens. For those who never met her Judy was spinal cord injured yet had the energy of a marathon runner as she pushed her manual wheelchair,” Bifulco wrote.

    Services were held at Raynor & D'Andrea Funeral Home in Bayport on December 3^rd and 4^th. Record leaves behind her husband Gilbert, his siblings Janet Griffin, Joan Kandler-Steppe and Edward Steppe, and her aunt Joan Eccleston.

    This article was published in the January 2012 issue of Able News.