Judith Ann Book

August 5, 1940 – March 16, 2021

After a nineteen-year affliction with Alzheimer’s disease, Judy passed away on March 16, 2021. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Norm, her son Norman and his wife Laurel, her son John and his wife Ramie, her grandchildren, Katie, Brennan and Josh, and her siblings Selma Lachman, Martha Mertz and David Rusch.

Her parents, Clarence and Elinor Rusch, lived in Burlingame and owned the Adeline Market, where Judy spent many hours stocking shelves and bookkeeping. Both parents were active in community organizations and each was named Citizen of the Year.

Judy attended Burlingame High School where she was a student body officer, cheerleader, and voted Contributed Most by her classmates. She loved traveling and in the summer of her junior year was an American Field Service exchange student to the Netherlands. Judy was an honor student and gifted both athletically and musically, excelling in piano and violin. She was a member of the BHS string orchestra, which quickly gained attention for its excellence, and played at the Brussels World Fair her senior year.

Following graduation in 1958, Judy attended Occidental College, where she was a varsity song leader and chaperoned a group of AFS high school students to Europe in the summer of her junior year. After graduating from college, she taught physical education for a year at Capuchino High School.

In 1963, she was admitted to Stanford University’s masters program in Guidance and Counseling, graduating in June of 1964. That spring, she met her future husband, Norm, who was attending Stanford Law School. They were married in December.

In the fall of 1964, Judy approached the head of the Stanford Women’s Athletic Department, offering to assist in any way needed. Shortly thereafter, she was given the opportunity to teach a class. Judy was so embraced by her students that she was offered a position as full-time instructor, which she held until the birth of Norm and Judy’s first child. During that time, she taught classes ranging from rhythmic gymnastics to jazz dance to bowling. She also coached Stanford’s field hockey team as well as The Stanford Dollies. One of her outstanding achievements was teaching archery to Vietnam War veterans who had been blinded in battle.

After retiring from Stanford, Judy’s focus was on her family. She seldom missed a soccer match, water polo game, swim meet, or other event in which either son was involved. Summers included a week at Stanford Camp at Fallen Leaf Lake, and a week at the Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center. As the boys started school, Judy began attending Bible Study Fellowship, a nondenominational Christian organization dedicated to in-depth Bible study. She was soon asked to become a discussion leader, and two years later was asked to consider becoming the Teaching Leader for the Peninsula Chapter of over 150 women. After some hesitation and encouragement from Norm, she accepted. Her duties included guiding the discussion group leaders and preparing a weekly lecture based on a passage from the Bible.

Beginning in the late 1990s, Judy and Norm decided to set aside time for travel, providing Norm with many fond memories, particularly a trip to Rome, Athens, Paris, Israel, and Egypt accompanied by their two sons.

After twenty years of faithful service, Norm was advised by Judy’s discussion leaders that she was beginning to show signs of memory loss. This led to her resigning from her leadership position in 1999. What was then diagnosed as early dementia was ultimately determined to be Alzheimer’s disease.

Judy will be remembered as a faithful servant of Christ, loving wife, devoted mother, and loyal friend.

An interment service for the immediate family will be held at Cypress Lawn. A memorial service will follow when an appropriate venue becomes available.