Sarah Judson

Our beautiful wife, mother, daughter and sister, Sarah Walker Judson, succumbed to a debilitating post-partum condition on April 11, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Born June 3, 1986 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to John Dale and Lauri Gibson Walker, Sarah will be remembered as an incredibly spiritual, loving, intelligent and capable daughter of our Heavenly Father. Her early childhood was spent mostly in San Diego, California and the remainder of her youth in Littleton, Colorado where, in 2004 she graduated from Chatfield High School. Shortly thereafter she left home to pursue her college education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and had many subjects to choose from, but was inspired by a late-night insect-trapping excursion that piqued her interest in biology, and aquatic entomology, in particular. She subsequently earned a Bachelor of Science degree in integrative biology followed by a Master of Science degree in biology-both from BYU. While earning her bachelor's degree, Sarah met Michael Ivan Judson, Jr., and was sealed to him for time and all eternity on July 10, 2008, in the Mt. Timpanogos LDS temple. The couple remained at BYU while Sarah completed her Master's degree and Michael his Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Research excursions during her college years took Sarah to Tahiti and later to Mongolia. A specific objective of her research was to give people in developing countries the ability to determine the health of their water by monitoring insect populations in their rivers. Of her Mongolia research, a BYU press release says: "In late 2012, [BYU Professor Riley C.] Nelson and former BYU graduate student Sarah Judson published the first complete catalog of Mongolian stoneflies in the journal Zooataxa. The paper documents 51 species of stonefly, including five previously unknown to Mongolia and two new to science. The illustrated catalog lists habitat preferences of each species, making it possible to measure water quality without a laboratory." In 2010 the couple moved to Logan, Utah where Sarah accepted her first professional position as an aquatic ecologist and data analyst with the USU National Aquatic Monitoring Center, (the "Buglab,") and Michael pursued his Master's degree in aerospace engineering. Work activities later took the couple to Tehachapi, California, and then to San Diego, California, where, in January 2013, they welcomed a son, Michael Orion Judson. A beautiful daughter, Lily Joan Judson, followed in October 2014. Their days in San Diego were filled with joy and promise, with Sarah continuing her employment with USU remotely. A change in Michael's employment led the family to San Francisco in January 2015. A gifted musician and artist, Sarah made the most of her short time on earth always pursuing multiple passions simultaneously. She was capable of learning and mastering nearly any skill she wanted and read voraciously to teach herself. She was famous for her sewing, knitting, and crocheting and created dozens of useful items--usually without a pattern. She created hand sewn books, blown glass objects, and beautiful stained glass creations. Her gifts were almost always hand-made and greatly treasured. Sarah loved the wonders of creation and was a fiercely dedicated steward of planet earth. She quietly influenced those around her to adopt sustainable practices in their use of the earth's resources. She faithfully composted, recycled and reused whatever she could, often turning discarded fabric and other materials into useful and attractive items and beautiful works of art. She possessed equal technical talent and over the course of her career taught herself database design and programming, and graphic design. Sarah also invested significant amounts of time documenting the lives of her family on her own blog and in photo books. Sarah was happiest observing and studying nature up close with her family at her side. Her children from the time they were infants have been well acquainted with tide pools, forests, deserts, and mountain trails. Her passion for nature was an influence for good on her entire extended family. Sarah approached motherhood with the same energy and passion that she pursued the other parts of her life, learning all she could and studying the subject both through personal research and observation. But for all her logic Sarah was also blessed with an intense maternal instinct and nurturing sensitivity. She was an outstanding mother and loved her children deeply. Above all, Sarah was a woman of faith, with a deep and abiding love for her Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, a firm testimony of the gospel, and a determination to live her life in accordance with what she knew to be true. As a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she served diligently in all she was called to do. Sarah is survived by her husband Michael, son Michael, and daughter Lily; parents John and Lauri Walker, brothers Benjamin Walker (Breanna), Christopher Walker, and Daniel Walker who is currently serving as a missionary in the Florida Tallahassee Mission. She is also survived by her parents-in-law Michael Sr. and Debbie Judson, brother-in-law Kelley (Jakelle) Judson, sisters-in-law Emily (James) Sinkovic, Jessica Judson, and Anna Judson, and by numerous grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. As her family, our hearts are broken at her passing but we remain confident in the promises of Christ's Atonement and Resurrection and look forward to the day when we will be reunited with her, whole and perfected in mind, body and spirit. Services honoring Sarah's life will be held Monday, April 20, 2015, at 11:00 a.m., in the Lindon Utah Stake Center, 1050 E. 100 North, in Lindon, Utah. A visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m. will precede the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Sarah Walker Judson memorial account at any Zion's Bank branch or at GoFundMe.com under "Sarah Walker Judson." Memories of Sarah will be gratefully received at MemoriesofSarahJudson@gmail.com.

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