Author: Penn Dixie

By Dr. Phil Stokes, Executive Director

With deep sorrow I report the passing of longtime volunteer and friend Judy Wilder (1951-2023).

I first met Judy in January of 2016, shortly after beginning my tenure as executive director at HNHS/Penn Dixie. I was in search of a bookkeeper to handle payroll duties for our two(!) employees – myself and former Director of Education Sarah Tarnowski (Einhouse). Judy was a member of the local chamber of commerce, and at a chamber-sponsored breakfast meeting Judy introduced herself to me as a provider of bookkeeping services. Judy was polite, friendly, and had received good references from other members of the business community. After the meeting, I contacted Judy to see if she was interested in doing some work for Penn Dixie. She agreed!

Judy turned out to be a knowledgeable and diligent bookkeeper, handling our payroll duties with a high level of accuracy and responsiveness for over seven years. Judy was along for the ride as our organization grew from a small attraction to a respected cultural destination with the national following that we enjoy today. As our reputation grew, so did our bookkeeping needs. Judy kept up with the demand as our team grew to include four full time employees plus 20 part time and seasonal staff.

If you’ve ever run a business, then you’ll know that there is a tremendous amount of work that takes place behind the scenes. Judy helped immensely, providing expert guidance as we navigated the rules and regulations that businesses need to follow. I could not tell you how many hours Judy and I spent on the phone discussing things like payroll taxes, tax codes, and unemployment insurance.

Though she billed us quarterly, Judy ended up donating a significant amount of time and expertise to Penn Dixie – probably hundreds of hours when all was said and done. Judy helped us through some very lean years, back when the organization struggled with financial problems and making payroll was not easy. I’m forever grateful for her generosity at that time.

In addition to her problem solving skills, Judy possessed a strong sense of community and regularly volunteered for Penn Dixie among other local organizations. She was on the planning committee for our Guinness World Record attempt in August of 2018, helping us to secure corporate sponsorships while also attending and taking photographs at the event that could be used for official verification purposes. She was proud to participate in the world’s largest fossil dig and become a world record holder!

Aside from digging from fossils, Judy was most proud of winning the Erie County Fair Ultimate Fairgoer award in 2018. This award is given by the Erie County Agricultural Society – another local group with whom Judy volunteered – to the person who is most “passionate and enthusiastic” about the fair. Earlier in the year, Judy had asked me to nominate her for the award. And, of course, I obliged.

Judy personified the spirit of the fair – she loved to photograph the rides, attractions, and animals at the fair. She talked about it all year, and her summer plans revolved around the fair. She attended every day – all 12 – of the fair each year! And, she frequently entered her photographs into the fair’s annual photography contests. While she had some great shots of the ferris wheel, my favorite photos were the ones that Judy took in nature, away from the lights and sounds of the fair. During the springtime, she visited area parks with her camera, waiting for just the perfect moment to catch butterflies pollinating flowers. These were the quiet, delicate moments that she appreciated – and something we enjoyed talking about after we had discussed payroll taxes. I’m fairly certain – pun intended – that a few of her photos won awards!

Judy also enjoyed attending concerts, with musical tastes ranging from 1960s acts like The Turtles and Three Dog Night to heavier stuff. You might not believe it, but Judy was a big fan of heavy metal! She told me that she had seen AC/DC and Def Leppard in concert, but perhaps I was a little skeptical of her concert stories until I ran into her one day at a Bret Michaels concert! Judy was singing along to some of the band Poison’s greatest hits at – where else – the Erie County Fair!!

The final time I saw Judy was, ironically, at the fair this past summer. On a whim, I had invited my family to see Chubby Checker perform at the grandstand. My sister and I grew up listening to Chubby’s records, and I thought it would be a fun way to reconnect with the past. The show was excellent! Chubby played all of his hits from the 1960s, and the audience – made up mostly of dancing senior citizens including my parents – ate it up. We twisted the night away! Okay, it was more like late afternoon given the demographics, but you get my drift.

As the show ended, I spotted Judy in the crowd. She was twisting just like the rest of us – smiling and laughing and happy and nostalgic. I introduced her to my family, and we talked about the show and her plans to see more fairs and concerts that fall. Judy said that she was looking forward to volunteering for Penn Dixie at our next big event, and that she considered me and former Associate Director Dr. Holly Schreiber to be her extended family given our long history together. I assured Judy that I would keep her in our thoughts when it came time to plan the next big event. Alas, that did not come to be as Judy passed unexpectedly in October.

On behalf of the Hamburg Natural History Society, I sincerely thank Judy Wilder for her longtime service to our organization and the community.

Tribute page: https://www.lombardofuneralhome.com/tributes/Judith-Wilder

Cover Photo by Erin Minuskin on Unsplash