Judith Kathryn Male

Judith Kathryn Male passed away on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, just two days before her 76th birthday. Surrounded by the family she cherished, Judy completed a six-and-a-half-year journey with cancer with the same quiet grace and resilient spirit that defined her life.

Born in Gillett Grove, Iowa to Charles and Kay Nelson, Judy grew up on the family farm, where she spent her childhood riding her beloved horse, Sparkle. She later raised her family in Cassville, Wisconsin, balancing a career as a dental hygienist with devoted service to her family, church, and community. In 2015, she moved to Somerset, Wisconsin, to be near her children and grandchildren.

A woman of deep compassion, Judy believed every person was worthy of unconditional love. Her faith guided her, and she often drew strength from Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” She had a gift for making everything more beautiful. At the lake home she and her husband remodeled in 2016, she welcomed family and friends with warm hospitality. She found joy in simple pleasures—sipping coffee on the porch at sunrise, tending her flowers, fishing with family, and walking her faithful Weimaraner, Lucy. Her kitchen was a place of love, where baking and cooking became her way of saying “I love you.” Her greatest happiness came from watching her nine grandchildren play in the lake; they always felt deeply loved by Grandma Judy, who would happily sit in the sand and build castles with them.

Judy is survived by her devoted husband, Clyde Male; her mother, Kay Mugge; her children, Katie (Art) Howard, Bryan (Maggie) Johnson, Jessica (Brandon) Friederick, and Kristin (Darren) Allen; and her nine precious grandchildren, Landon, Ava, Coen, Sienna, Benson, Penny, Jane, Paxton, and Evelyn. She was preceded in death by her father, Charles Nelson, and her brothers, Patrick and David Nelson.