Judith Barr Bachay, PhD July 20, 1951 - May 26, 2022

Miami Shores, Florida - Judi was born the oldest of seven children in Washington, D.C. She grew up in Huntington, Long Island and moved to Miami Shores when she was in high school. She received her undergraduate degree from Biscayne College and her masters and doctorate degree from Barry University.She worked for several social service agencies, community mental health centers, and was a guidance counselor for Dade County Public Schools. She was a professor in the guidance and counseling program at Saint Thomas University for over 20 years.

She is predeceased by her father, William E. Barr and her brother, Chris Barr {Margaret}.She is survived by her husband John, children; Jessica {Haider Haimus}, Jacqueline Carmona {Rick}, Daniel Bachay; her mother Roxanne Barr, siblings; Kathy Barr, Patty Walker {Mark}, Cindy Barr, Carolyn Barr { Charles Denison}, and Larry Barr {Iliana}. She leaves behind six much loved grandchildren: Abbas, Yusef, and Amir Haimus, and Valentina, Diego, and Aviva Carmona.

These are the facts behind Judi’s life but her essence is harder to articulate due to rich legacy she imparted

Miami, Florida - Sadly, on Saturday, July 16th, I lost “The Bubba”, the loving term we used to refer to each other. He was so strong and battled his cancer valiantly. And in the end, he did everything he could possibly do to plan for the inevitable. He would say, “I’ll be fine, I’m worried about those left behind.” And I assured him, that “those left behind would not be fine”.

My brother and I were so close, and his loss is truly devastating. Janzie, the love of my life who passed away almost 3 years ago, would say that “Ronald has the unique ability to make everyone he meets feel special”. She was right.

We were different in so many ways. He loved opera, just like our father. I always loved Folk Music and Rock & Roll. A picture of him with Pavarotti still hangs above his desk. He was a “Philosophy” major in school… and I could barely spell the word. He was always nice… and me… well, not so much. And he didn’t use four letter words… and me… I couldn’t communicate without them.

My brother had a wonderful life but fell short of celebrating his 80th Birthday. About so many things throughout our lives, he to family, friends, and students. Judi was a committed and passionate professor and academic, but her work didn’t stop at the university. She truly lived her philosophy and engaged the world through working with community organizations. They say, “Those that can’t do teach”, but Judi taught and DID! She was committed to challenging her students by taking them beyond the classroom and placing them in real world situations. Judi was dedicated to serving the diverse communities within South Florida with respect and love.

To understand Judi’s commitment to helping better the world , these are examples of her social activism: she volunteered with the Red Cross in shelters in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, traveled to to a detention center holding immigrant children in Texas, and attended The Women’s March in Washington, D.C. In addition, she was a consultant for South Florida People of Color, a local antiracist organization, authored several books for various student populations on conflict resolution for The Peace Foundation, and was active in Women Moving Forward, a national organization. Judi served as a US delegate for the Women Waging Peace a global initiative of a program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Then there was her international work- she received a Fulbright Scholarship to work with a local university in Slovenia. She always spoke of her experience there and the many friends and colleagues she met with great joy. She received another Fulbright Scholarship assignment to work with a local agency that sheltered immigrants from Syria and Africa in Athens, Greece. She either sponsored or participated in study abroad programs for students at St. Thomas University in Italy, Spain, Ireland, Scotland and the Balkans. Moreover, she taught summer school at a private university in Zagreb, Croatia for many years.She more recently taught summer school for a private university in Slovenia.Judi was very involved in an initiative at St. Thomas University and later at Barry University with a project in the north of Haiti, which involved working with an artisan group and developing a cooperative for local coffee farmers. Judi was a key member of the COCANO coffee project from its inception over 15 years ago, and her life lives on in the farmers efforts to build a sustainable future.

A person who cared deeply for others, Judi always looked to help people, whether they were friends, students, or someone she just met.Finally, she was a dreamer and she had a vision she constantly strived to fulfill. She is sorely missed by all.

Judi’s professional papers and publications have been accepted as a collection by the archives at Barry University.

Donations may be made in Judi’s name to support the ongoing work of COCANO in rural Haiti.

Donate online at :https:// tinyurl.com/JudiBachayCocanoFund

Checks can be sent to : Amor en Accion/Cafe Cocano

P.O. Box 141523

Coral Gables, Fl 33114 Checks should be written out to “Amor en Accion” with Judi BachayCocano

fund in the memo