Charles "Red" Ira Judkins, Jr.

Charlie passed away on Friday, June 26, 2020 at the age, of 89. Born in Worcester, MA, in February of 1931, he was the son, of Charles and Amy Friden Judkins; and the brother of Dr. Richard F. Judkins. Known as “Red” to his family and long-time friends for his fiery red hair, Charlie was a paid young soprano in a prominent boys choir in Worcester until his voice changed, and then he became a tenor in his mother’s church choir. He happily remained a choir singer for the rest of his life, recently at Sandia Presbyterian Church, where he was a member since coming to Albuquerque. In his previous Presbyterian church in Potomac, MD, he served in many capacities, including Deacon, Elder, and Executive Committee member for fifteen years, often as chairman, and he sang in the choir for thirty years.

In his teens, Charlie attended YMCA caddy camp during the summers on Nantucket and Cape Cod, teaching himself to play golf, his avocation for life. He was a former member of Tanoan Country Club, and was a one-time New Mexico Senior Golf Champion. In retirement, he and friends played on many of the top golf courses in this country and Great Britain.

After high school, Charlie attended a post-graduate year at Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA. He blossomed as a scholar and athlete and was an inspirational leader, setting a trend for his life. After graduation, he entered Brown University on a four-year Navy ROTC scholarship playing varsity football and basketball. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

He met his beloved wife, Nancy, when they were students at Brown. They were married in 1956 after he completed his Navy assignment proudly serving aboard a destroyer in the Pacific during the Korean war. After the Navy, Charlie studied at Columbia Business School, earning an MBA in 1958, aided financially by the GI Bill and Nancy who worked at the New York Times until the birth of their daughter, Lynn, of Albuquerque, in 1959.

He was hired by IBM and sold large-frame computers in the New York City area.

His son, Peter of Cambridge, MD, was born in 1961. Later his close friend, Dick Page, recruited him to move to Hartford, CT, as finance and administration director of the Travelers Research Center, an R&D offshoot of Travelers Insurance Co. The family spent seven happy years, in Connecticut.

His son, Eric, of Albuquerque, a retired U.S. Army General Officer and proud member of The New Mexico National Guard, was born in Hartford in 1964. In 1967, Charlie and two partners started their own company, Geomet, a technical service company in Washington, DC. The family lived in Potomac, MD, until 1985 when Geomet was purchased and Charlie partially retired. He then traveled the world with Nancy, played golf, and enjoyed his summer cottage in Bethany Beach, DE, with family and friends.

After several trips to Albuquerque to visit Eric’s family, Charlie and Nancy decided to move permanently to Albuquerque in 2003 so that they could take part in the lives of their two much loved grandsons, Marcus and Thomas, enjoying and participating in their sports and academic activities.

He and Nancy enjoyed their mutual association with Brown. In 2019, they attended the 65th reunion, of their class of 1954. They were both honored to serve as Marshals at the 2019 Brown commencement. He was a former president of his college class.

Charlie is survived by his wife, three children, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren; brother, Dr. Richard Judkins (Linda) of Palmetto, FL; sister-in-law, Ellanie Hershberger (Dr. Thomas) of Pittsburgh, PA; and several nieces, nephews, grand-nephews, cousins and many close friends.

Wise, personable, and witty, Charlie was greatly loved and will be missed by all who knew him.

A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, July 8, 2020, 11:00 a.m., at Sandia Presbyterian Church, 10704 Paseo Del Norte NE, Albuquerque, NM 87122.  A Graveside Service will follow at 3:00 p.m. at Santa Fe National Cemetery.