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Judith Hopkins Murphy

Profile Updated: March 26, 2020
Judith Hopkins
Residing in:
Camarillo, CA USA
Spouse/partner:
Gary L. Murphy
Life's work after BHS:
Forever a foreign language learner, cooking, gardening, hiking and rockhounding with Gary.
Children & grandchildren (names/ages):
Son Sean, born 1963. Step-grandchildren: Gabriela, Alex and Ben.
Yes! Attending Reunion
Other than high school crushes, who were your best friends? What did you do together?

Marian Hansen, Jeanne Iversen and I got into the usual teen-age antics: We had slumber parties, flirted with boys, raised our hemlines, suntanned at Juanita Beach, tried temp hair colors, ate BLTs at Woolworth's...

Did you marry your high school sweetheart?

No

Have you ever been self-employed?

Yes

If answer is YES above, what is/was the name of your company? What is/was your title? Where is/was it located? Nature of business?

Freelance non-fiction articles. "Portraiture by Judith." For several years licensed for this & jewelry design.

Current & past (Career / Retired / Volunteer) status. Tell us name of company or organization and where:

Evening ESL instruction, (Huntsville, Alabama, then California. At Ventura County Office of Education, edited and illustrated teacher training manuals for other California counties.

Currently writing family histories, designing jewelry, and making photo cards.

Which school(s) did you attend K-12?

Bothell Kindergarten (Mrs. Burns' class), Bothell Elementary School,
W.A. Anderson Jr. High School, Bothell High.

How many Class of 1961 reunions have you attended?

Two

Other types of reunions I've attended/organized? (groups of 20 or more people)

Family

A special teacher:

Dr. Javor's enthusiasm for teaching motivated me to love languages. He kindly took me once to a Seattle city-wide Spanish banquet. In my first year at UW, I took my Spanish prof from Chile to my sorority's "Bring your professor" dinner, and he didn't speak English all night. He gave me quitu a workout, and only later did I figure out his "no English" was total pretense. He had conducted his UW class only in Spanish. What a fun year!

Mr. Green: I appreciated and needed his extra driving lessons.

Miss Eylar: Wish I'd taken her Creative Writing. It surprised me that she used my poem in the school magazine, since I'd written it in a few minutes before falling asleep the night before.

I valued Mrs. Dodge who stretched our thinking in her English class.

What were you in high school?

Behind the scenes
Add Your Answer Here lacking self-confidence

Of which clubs and committees were you a member?

Thespians, Spanish Club

As I look back, some event, a fellow classmate, a neighbor who made an impact on you. A school story:

Until Marian Hansen moved across the street from me, I'd had no girl friends within a mile from my house. I spent summer days playing with a nice little neighbor boy three years younger. Meeting Marian felt like moving into the city from the Outback. What? We should shorten our hemlines before school? Hair styles? Write to movie stars for their autographs? Sit in Bothell's St. Vincent de Paul shop to read the young adult novels for nothing?

My long-widowed mom had to work as a seamstress in Seattle all the time to support us. Marian's mom, a homemaker, drove us to swim at Juanita Beach, playd cards with us in their backyard, took us weekly to the Bothell library, let us mix up pudding snacks and read books while lying on blankets in their plum orchard. We sat on the floor in her home's closets and told stories and played word games. Her younger brother played pingpong against me in their basement. My life and good times began that summer before sixth grade. Marian, her sister Suzi, and family embraced me, and life was great.

Did you attend junior/community college, a four-year college or university?

Yes

If YES, names of colleges and/or universities. Did you earn a degree? If so, what kind(s)?

UW, UAH, UCSB. BA in English/German; teaching certificate, TESOL grad studies.

More fun than the above were the fine art photography classes taught by Bill Hendricks (1990s) at Ventura College. Our guest bathroom became a darkroom. Guests were no longer so welcome because it required three days to re-cover the reflective foil walls with black plastic after guests had left.

What is your greatest passion for the rest of your life?

Travel--mode of transportation & where to? by plane--anywhere
Other--Please explain Using the languages I've learned. They have let me meet more people and have fun.

Pets:

No pets lately

If you currently live more than 25 miles from Bothell, what year did you leave?

1963

List places you have visited. Anything unusual in the way of activities? Any special feats or accomplishments that might be found in your own "Who's Who" if it were published?

Mid-1960: German neighbors lived all around us in Huntsville, and our son had only German children to play with. His first full sentence was in German. Our new friends immersed us in their culture and we ate it up (pun intended).

1970s: My husband, son and I enjoyed exploring caves in Madison County, Alabama. (There are over 2000 "wild" or unexplored ones.) Underground lakes, rushing streams...We didn't take all the precautions we should have and are lucky nothing serious happened.
Europe, Central America and China.

1980s: Tried romance novel writing. Our group met weekly, and we never stopped laughing.

1990s: Placed first in b/w photo competitions; exhibited in county galleries/institutions.

Any time in your life, where is the SINGLE furthest place away from Bothell you have lived for six months or more?

Huntsville, Alabama

Any state where you have spent seven or more consecutive nights:

WA, OR, CA, AZ, NV, FL, AL, UT,...HI

Any country where you have spent seven or more consecutive nights:

Canada, England, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Mexico, China, Guatemala

What about hobbies or special interests? We'd like to hear about them.

Gardening, German, Chinese conversation studies, ethnic recipes, jewelry-making...

Have you ever been on TV or radio? Where? When (elaborate please)?

On BBC Radio-i4 Podcasts February 2016 with a British penpal (from Mrs. Price's 7th grade pen pal exercise). This was fun and originated because we've corresponded--and visited--for over 50 years. The podcast celebrated the 500th year of the English Post. Ours was broadcast February 20, one day before heard in England.

Any newspaper or magazine articles you have had published or that have been written/published about you? Any books you have written/published?

Non-fiction articles. Never sent out the novel. The fun was worth every word, however.

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