Judith Quain

Judith Quain died peacefully at her home in Newton on June 25, with her husband of 40 years, Paul Quain, by her side. Judith is mourned by her son Finn Yonkers and Diana Stafford, daughter Jennifer and Andrew Crowe, and her brother Jim and Flora Kahle. She also leaves behind three grandchildren Milo, Moxie and Lola Crowe. A memorial for family & friends is planned for the fall.

Judith grew up in Illinois and was an intrepid traveler. She ski bummed in Aspen, lived in India, Switzerland, and France, and gave birth to her children abroad. Her exposure to other cultures informed her empathy and compassion for those less fortunate. Upon returning to the States, she brought all of her knowledge to bear in designing spaces for adults with disabilities.

Judith was an amazing woman, as creative as she was intelligent.  She put herself through school, earning degrees from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Mass College of Art, where she became a Master teacher for the Adaptive Environment Center. She also worked for the ABC affiliate, WCVB-TV Boston, and then as a writer/producer/filmmaker for PBS. Along the way she won numerous awards including: Artist-in-Residence and fellowships from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, seven Telly awards for the PBS series “The American Experience” and the E.P. Ingersoll Award for Excellence for the TV series “Driving Passion”, which she wrote, directed, and produced.

But at heart she was an artist. Judith was a prolific painter and wrote poetry all her life as a way of clarifying her thoughts. The kitchen was just another studio for her as she loved to cook—but never the same thing twice! She viewed art in all its forms as a way of life, and this was her gift to all of us.

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