Judy is survived by her husband George, her son Bob Illa in Sacramento and his daughters Sawyer and Siena; also her siblings David in Loomis, Derrill in Angelus Oaks, and Ellaine in Temecula.
Judy was a sixth generation Californian. She was born into the Quaschnick household in August, 1946, the youngest of four children. She grew up on a grape farm in San Bernadino County, in Alta Loma.
She completed Upland High School early, and graduated from UC Berkeley at age 20. Judy began her career as a social worker with the County of San Mateo. Later she got a masters in business, moved into budgeting, and retired as financial manager for Environmental Health.
She married George Riley in 1985. Both retired in 1992, and moved to Monterey in 1997.
She first became interested in ceramics and painting after moving here. Ceramic art was her passion. She was active in Central Coast Art Association and Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation. She showed her work in the MPAF Gallery on Cannery Row for 10 years. She taught ceramics at the Monterey Senior Center, and often encouraged others to help their community by volunteering.
Judy's humor took many forms. Her "Laurels and Hardlys" suggestion was used for several years by the Monterey Herald for its "hits and misses" column. Her greatest fear during large doses of the pain killer Oxycontin was that she would begin to sound like Rush Limbaugh.
She was loved deeply. Her art lives on. Deep gratitude to these key helpers: Annemarie, Mishka, Carole, Melva, and Hope. Also those at Stanford Oncology, CHOMP Oncology and Hospice.
In lieu of flowers, consider a contribution to Judy's preferred charity, Friends of Homeless Women, Community Foundation of Monterey County, 2354 Garden Road, Monterey CA 93940.
A memorial service will be scheduled for the Spring. For more information, please visit www.missionmortuary.com.
Published in The Monterey Herald on Jan. 29, 2015
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