Judith Belle Needham's Obituary
Judith Belle was born and lived in Astoria, Oregon where she grew up with three older brothers, Bill (deceased), Donald (deceased), and Kenneth. At age 13, she moved with her parents to the Seattle, Washington area. She later moved with her mother to the Beaverton/Portland area where she lived for the next 42 years.
Judith was introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints through her mother, who was introduced by her son (and Judith’s brother) Ken. She eventually understood and accepted the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1967. She developed a strong love for her Savior, Jesus Christ and worked to let the Atonement heal her and direct her life. She was fully active in the church and served in many callings including teacher in the Primary and Relief Society, Stake Extraction Leader, Humanitarian Leader, Compassionate Service Leader and ALWAYS genealogy work for her own family and to help others.
Her work career was steady and might seem boring to some, but she found exciting and wonderful personal growth in each job!
She worked for the Portland Library for 3 years, a great job for someone who loved books as much as she did! After that, she held clerical positions in the Civil Service for the state of Oregon and Oregon Medical School.
Wanting to further her career, she took the Civil Service Exam for the Federal Government. She was offered a job in Washington, DC but opted to stay in Oregon and accept a position with the United States Forest Service in Portland at the Regional Headquarters.
This period of time became a life changing period of growth. She worked with wonderful, supportive people who encouraged her to take chances and overcome fears. She was able to overcome her extreme shyness and became a trainer in the Forest Service Management Training Program. With encouragement, she earned a college degree in Management and Communications at age 42. Her abilities grew and she was promoted several times. With promotions, came travel to places like Washington DC, Chicago, and Denver. Whenever she traveled, she took advantage of visiting art museums and any other cultural attractions she could find. She loved enlarging her world and mind.
After 15 years with the Forest Service, she looked for a career change and moved to the Oregon State Health Division for another 15 years where she became a Human Resources Manager.
She retired in 2000 to take care of her beloved mother Nina and stepfather Gilbert Patterson. Following their deaths, she moved to Utah in 2002 to be near other members of her family. It was hard to leave her beautiful Pacific Northwest and ocean but took trips back to her home on the coast whenever she could!
Retiring fairly young, Judith felt the need to keep busy and serve Heavenly Father in his work. In the next 10 years of her life, she filled two 12-month Service Missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, one in the Membership Locator Mission and the other in the Family History Processing Center. She also served an 18-month full time mission in the California, Riverside mission office.
By age 70, she finally decided she could relax and work on family history and whatever seemed fun to her. She invited a widowed friend to be her roommate, and that friend, Judy Peterson, was her partner in fun! They grew to be close friends as they traveled, lunched, played, and side by side in their recliners, enjoyed British television and gospel discussions for 8 enjoyable years.
Judith was good at loving people and all who were close to her felt her interest and influence in their lives. In return, she was admired, loved, and looked to as an example. We love you Judith and look forward to being with you once again.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a charitable cause or do an act of kindness in honor of Judith.
Memorial services will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 310 West 100 South, Lindon, Utah.
What’s your fondest memory of Judith?
What’s a lesson you learned from Judith?
Share a story where Judith's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Judith you’ll never forget.
How did Judith make you smile?