Judith K. Ruud

“What a great weekend!!” said Judy, the other half of the Ruud team. She met many of you during Alumni Days and was most impressed with how many alumni credit Ship with their success.

Judy and Bill married in 1976. She carved a career as a lawyer while supporting Bill’s career changes. She earned a law degree from the University of Toledo Law School in 1984 and was admitted to the Ohio Bar that year. After moving to Idaho in 1992, she was admitted to that Bar, followed by admission to the California Bar in 2003. When they moved to Modesto, California, Judy worked for several major law firms, developing an expertise in estate planning, charitable planning, and business succession planning. She earned a B.S. from California State University Long Beach in 1974 and a M.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1975.

What guilty pleasures will you admit to?
Only the obvious: taking long walks across campus with BJLouis (our dog); sitting outside on a nice day reading a book; and vacationing with my family-including my parents who live just outside of Las Vegas.

What is your favorite music group?
My favorite is Peter, Paul, and Mary. My favorite song is the Wedding Song. We played it at our wedding 31 years ago.

What three words best describe you?
Self-confident, independent, and quite sentimental—I cry very easily at happy or sad events! The latter will become obvious as Bill and I attend more events…

Describe an ice cream sundae named for you.
I don’t really like ice cream, so it would be plain vanilla low-fat yogurt in a graham cracker cone with sprinkles. (If you ever see me walking across campus in the morning or doing yard work—in my Ship t-shirt and shorts, with no make-up—the plain will make perfect sense. The sprinkles… well, I do love to dress up for events.

What’s your favorite smell? Least favorite?
My mother is 100 percent Italian, the last of nine children and the only one born in the U.S. and nothing beats the smell of her Italian sauce; it’s my grandmother’s recipe! A close second is the smell of Bill’s chicken noodle soup—he’s a fabulous cook! My least favorite is any kind of strong incense.

What, if anything, scares you?
Driving along when we suddenly hit a high winding road with blind turns and areas where the car coming at us has to stop so we can proceed! Heading to Vegas for my father’s 80th birthday, we were rerouted to Route 1 along California’s northern coast. As I looked out my window at the ocean miles below, a news flash stated San Luis Obispo, which we left 6 miles ago, just had an earthquake measuring over 5 on the Richter scale!

Where is your most favorite place?
I have lots of “most favorite places.” One favorite is the Williamsburg Inn where we used to stay when Bill was in the military and we were stationed in Reston, Virginia. Others are Carmel, California; Sedona, Arizona; Big Sky, Montana; Lake Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho; and Boston—it is such a fun city!

Who is (or was) your hero?
I have lots of heroes. So many people do wonderful things, including my husband Bill who continually amazes me!

What is the most amazing thing you have seen or done?
Recently, having lived through getting a flat tire on the Golden Gate Bridge! The tire blew in the middle of the bridge on a Sunday when crews don’t monitor traffic. We sat at a dead stop for an hour with cars whizzing by calling on our cell phones until we got a private service to help us off. A huge truck pulled up behind us and the driver yelled on his bullhorn not to leave the car and to drive on the flat until we got off the bridge while he protected us from traffic. When we got to safety, he told us we were lucky to be alive!

What was your favorite game as a child?
Baseball! My dream was to be a pitcher for the N.Y. Yankees! For many years, instead of a purse I carried a black baseball glove I named “precious.”

What is the ideal age and why?
Whatever age I am at the moment!

What have you done that surprised those who know you?
Moved to Pennsylvania without having a full-time job to start the second we arrived, followed closely by taking the California bar three years ago!

What’s on your “Things To Do When Bored” list?
I tend to be in constant motion or at a dead stop—so boredom is not a frequent state. If I was bored I would write a book; read every book in the library and local bookstore; become a master gardener and computer wizard (I would settle for figuring out Windows 2007); and learn to play Bridge.

What’s your favorite word? Least favorite?
My favorite—love. Least are “I can’t” and “I’m too old.”

What’s the best advice you ever gave?
Most recently it would be when I agreed with Bill he should pursue his nomination for president of Shippensburg University! We love it here!!!