Judith C. Phillips died at her home in Burlington, Vt., on March 14, 2026. She was 90 years old. With her daughter by her side, she departed under the care of the Converse Home nursing staff and Bayada Hospice.
Judy was recently widowed by the love of her life and husband of 68 years, Richard “Dick” O. Phillips. They were inseparable from their first meeting through old age, so it seemed predestined that she joined him soon after. She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Geer, and husband David; grandchildren, Emily Geer and fiancé Lucas Hanson, and Connor Geer and partner Darbey Durning; daughter-in-law, Gemma Gatti; and five nieces and their families. She was also predeceased by her mother and father, Ulsford Eugene and Margaret Beerworth Cargill, and her brother, David Cargill. Tragically, she lost her son, Richard D. Phillips, to brain cancer in 2024.
Born on September 11, 1935, in St. Albans, Vt., Judy lived there with her family until moving to Derby Line at age 6. She graduated from Derby Academy in 1954, then began her nurse’s training at the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston, earning her RN in 1957. During that time she lived in Concord, N.H., with her brother and his wife and worked at the New Hampshire State Hospital.
While she was in training, Judy’s brother introduced her to a dashing young man named Dick Phillips. They married on June 22, 1957, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Concord. That year they moved to New Haven, Conn., for Dick’s pursuit of a master of divinity degree. Judy began her nursing career at Yale New Haven Hospital in pediatrics, advancing to head nurse after two years. 1960 brought an assistant clergy role for Dick in Long Island, N.Y., and the birth of their first child, Richard. The church then called them to Pelham, N.Y., where their daughter, Lisa, joined the family in 1963. As her husband was called to serve in other New York parishes, Judy continued to advance in her profession in New York and Connecticut hospitals. Her experiences included per diem nursing at Lawrence Hospital and four years as charge nurse in pediatrics at Danbury Hospital. She was a deeply committed and caring nurse and cherished her pediatric patients, treating them as her own.
In 1973 the family moved to St. Johnsbury, Vt. Judy nursed at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, starting in pediatrics and later managing Founders Hall, a detox unit established at the hospital. She concluded her formal career at Pine Knoll Nursing Home in Lyndonville, retiring in 1982 to care for her aging parents.
After retirement Dick and Judy moved to Littleton, N.H., to be closer to the dear friends they met through All Saints Church. They spent 10 wonderful years with their PALS, as they called themselves, sharing church gatherings, evenings out, the theater, lectures, birthday and anniversary celebrations, and their beloved camping trips in Maine. Judy also formed deep and meaningful relationships with a group of women who, beyond being friends, served as confidantes and counsellors, fellow truth tellers, and girls’ night out companions. She remembered these years as some of the best of her life.
While Judy never returned to professional nursing, she continued her service as a committed hospice volunteer, bringing care and comfort to many bedsides. She was a natural caretaker who always felt there was more to give. Her personal life was enriched by loving family and friends, spirituality in all of its forms, music, gardening, songbirds, and quiet time at home, particularly in her later years. Her family is deeply grateful for the caring staff at the Converse Home in Burlington and Bayada Hospice in Colchester.
No services are planned at this time. A small graveside service will be held for Judy and Dick together at a future date. Anyone wishing to formally honor her memory may send donations to All Saints Episcopal Church in Littleton, N.H., or All Saints Episcopal Church in South Burlington, Vt.
Arrangements are in the care of the Cremation Society of Chittenden County, a division of Ready Funeral & Cremation Services. To share online condolences, please visit readyfuneral.com.