Judith "Judy" Marie Sekera

I was very sad and sorry to learn of Judy’s passing. I taught in the English department at Air Academy High School from 1974-1982, and the more time passes, the more I have come to realize how indebted I have been to Judy for her mentoring and modeling in my first years in the classroom.
Early in my time at AAHS I inherited responsibilities for both the Jetstream newspaper and the Vapor Trails yearbook from Judy, and I spent the next several years pestering her with questions and trying madly to carry on the traditions of journalistic excellence she had established. Having handed off the publications jobs to me, Judy took it upon herself to upgrade the curriculum for sophomore Lit & Comp, which I also taught, as well as other courses. These were in the days before all the research came out documenting the benefits to students of a “guaranteed and viable curriculum” (i.e. departments assuring that their courses are so aligned and consistent that no matter how experienced or inexperienced individual teachers are, students will come out with roughly similar skills and knowledge). I just think that Judy understood intuitively that my students would learn more if she mapped out the lessons. I could never repay such generosity. More importantly, several years of AAHS sophomores who got Mrs. Cutter instead of Ms. Sekera for Lit & Comp are in her debt as well.
Likewise, there is no telling how much I – and all the students I taught for the rest of my career – benefitted from being around Judy day-to-day. Her droll humor lightened every hard situation, and her common sense and wisdom taught me to see the big picture time and time again. She was a wonderful role model for how to treat students of every kind.
This past May I retired after 47 years in education, but without Judy I might not have made it through my first three. Judy could tell a hilarious story, and it’s entirely possible that back in the day she recounted to her family the trials and tribulations of molding this clueless rookie into a respectable educator worthy of teaching at Air Academy High School. Thanks to her kindness and patience, I hope I wound up as half the teacher she was.

I was at Air Academy High School from 1966 to 1970. I was co-editor-in-chief of the high school newspaper The Jetstream. Judy was the sponsor of the newspaper. I spent many long fond hours with her at the printer downtown proofing the galleys etc. My time on the newspaper is my fondest memory of my high school days. We had parties at Judy’s place. She was a wonderful teacher and sponsor.

One of Judy’s favorite poems was “Reflections on the Gift of a Watermelon Pickle” by John Tobias. As vascular disease took her leg and ravaged her body, she endured unimaginable pain and suffering. As the dementia worsened and her health declined, she still had a sense of humor and talked about riding horses and climbing mountains. As the poem says, fantasy became her reality, and she remembered happier times when unicorns were still possible. Rest In Peace, Judy. I love you, Leslie