Preface to Biography

Preface to working draft by Jay, Judy's #2 son

Until the day she left this world, surrounded by her children on February 27, 2007, I'd never really thought about the need to preserve my mother's memory, much less taking on the task of compiling and writing a full-fledged biography. Now it's hard not to imagine seeing the project through. Capturing the life story of Judith Toups from all possible angles. With stories and input from her all her children and help from her many friends.

Now that is a reason to get up early in the morning!

I'm not the most apt of her sons and daughters to drive this project. Just the first to latch onto the idea, mainly as a way of coping with her loss. I'm not afraid to admit I'm the least clever of the litter. But I do have some stories, pics and videos to get it jump started. And a big hole in my life to fill where she always was.

Judy's life was much more than any one person who knew her could ever relate, despite their blood relationship, literary gift or time in her presence. Now that she's up there looking down at us, somebody's gotta pull us story-telling geniuses together and get us writing.

As all who knew her would attest, Judy's life story is worth relating in detail, especially if all facets of her life are covered with attention to what made her the one-of-a-kind person she was. Lack of preparation, training, education or experience never stopped her from stepping up to face whatever life threw at her with intelligence, poise, cheer, grit, humor, forbearance, love and generosity that knew no bounds.

So I'm taking her lead and striking out on a path I've never trod. Hopeful that my family and friends of my mother will help gather together in one place all that is precious and memorable about her and include it in this evolving tale. Your personal memories of Judy are of great value in getting her story told right. Capturing her at her eccentric best.

Most Judy stories have at least some universal import, which will make for some interesting writing and reading eventually. So my hope is that you'll do what she always did, which is jump right into this "book-building" conversation and make your thoughts known. Almost everything and everyone was important to Judy. I hope she and her memory are just as important to you. So take all the time you need to compose your thoughts and either email them or submit them as a comment to this page. They'll get worked in and we'll make sure your story reads well and is formatted perfectly.

When deemed ready by the project's eagle-eyed editors and hawkish reviewers, the draft we eventually hammer out will live online, and possibly even be printed and released to the general public as a book. Hopefully to at least some regional acclaim, as her life, works and memory so richly deserve. For now her biography will live and be under constant development online, on a totally free site that will be "up" until Google is no more. (My mom loved good deals.)

Judy loved everyone except George W. Bush and gave many other people life, hope, happiness, support, friendship, comfort, clothing, shelter, commiseration, sympathy, indefatigability. She asked for almost nothing back. She was a true friend of the earth, a guru to some, a mother to many, and a friend to all. She wrote a newspaper column on birding (generating over 1650 columns) for more than 32 years, and she led dozens of birding expeditions from above the Arctic Circle to Panama, Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, New Jersey, Massachusetts. And she also published two birding books and dozens of articles in major birding publications, such as Birder's World and Birdwatcher's Digest.

She also gave birth to seven children, six of which lived to love and cherish her generous, loving, forgiving spirit across more than five and a half decades, and be there with her when she passed on. I'm proud to be one of them, as I'm sure my brothers and sisters are too.

She worried about me for more than 50 years. If you knew her, she was always "worried" about you too. That was her style. She gave all she had to those who needed it. Including the purveyors of her favorite brands of menthol cigarettes.

I frankly wish she would have worried about herself more. Like quitting while there was still a chance. But it wasn't to be. That's the saddest part of this story. She could still be alive if...ah, if.