Carol Judd

Dedicated Volunteer, Carol Judd, Honored by her Daughters with a Lasting Gift

At the age of 101, Carol Judd was a living legend to many patients and staff at French Hospital. 

Carol moved to San Luis Obispo in 1957 with her husband and three daughters. A devoted mother and wife, she was very involved in the community through many avenues – her church, the Cal Poly Women’s Club, activities with her children, and music. 

In 1992, Carol experienced a life threatening cardiac emergency and was treated at French Hospital by Dr. Luke Faber. Her experience inspired a dedication to French Hospital that was unwavering, motivating her to find ways to give back to the hospital for the rest of her life. Carol soon became a French Hospital volunteer, spending hours every week helping patients and visitors, until her passing 26 years later. 

“French Hospital became a second home for her,” says daughter Penny Sommers. “She loved the people she met at the hospital - staff, volunteers and patients.”

Carol greatly enjoyed her volunteer family and formed many lasting friendships during her time at French Hospital. She always knew just what to say to comfort patients and their family members or boost a patient’s confidence if they were going in for surgery. 

Carol gave back to her community in other ways besides volunteering, including creating scholarship funds at Cal Poly and Cuesta College. At French Hospital, she established the Carol S. Judd Family Scholarship Endowment Fund to provide scholarships for ongoing education and training for nurses and technicians working in French Hospital’s Copeland, Forbes & Rossi Cardiac Care Center. 

After her passing in April 2018, Carol’s daughters – Penny Sommers, Anita Judd, and Christie Redd Coyes – wanted to find a permanent way to honor their mother’s dedication to French Hospital. Working with the French Hospital Foundation, they named a patient room in her memory.

“Mom would have been so pleased to see a room named in her honor,” says Anita. “Her involvement at French Hospital was so important to her. Making this gift made so much sense for our family. We were able to give in her name to a place she loved and help patients by doing so.”

If you are one of the many who knew Carol, her daughters say that you can honor her memory by doing some of the things she did every day - greet a person by looking them in the eye, share a smile, tell a joke, or provide a treat (preferably chocolate).

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