Judy Montgomery died on May 26, 2021, in Lewiston, Maine.
(The following notice was shared by President Rose on May 27, 2021)
To faculty and staff,
As we end a very difficult year, I am very sorry to write to you with the heartbreaking news that our former colleague and friend Judy Montgomery and her husband, Paul D’Alessandro, were killed yesterday afternoon in a two-car automobile accident in Lewiston.
Judy, who retired from the College in January 2017 after thirty-eight years of extraordinary service, was simply a wonderful colleague and a wonderful person who gave so much of herself to our students, faculty, the College, and the community.
From her initial appointment as government documents assistant until her retirement as associate librarian, Judy played an increasingly central role in the library’s operations. She was also known to so many of us as a highly active and visible member of the Bowdoin community who approached her work with a keen sense of responsibility and who demonstrated great compassion, kindness, and understanding and a management style that was deeply appreciated by her colleagues.
In the library, Judy directed the advancement of the library’s liaison program and development of the Bowdoin Digital Commons. She helped to transform Hawthorne-Longfellow Library’s physical spaces and was instrumental in the evolution of technology infrastructure and electronic resources program. She was also a key participant in the library’s Colby, Bates, Bowdoin partnership.
Judy also organized a number of special projects for the library, including the annual Children’s Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. and, in 2016, the library’s joint publication with Rowman & Littlefield of the Plants and Flowers of Maine: Kate Furbish’s Watercolors.
Her dedication to the College also included service on the President Search Committee, the Oversight Committee on the Status of Women, the Events Reengineering Team, and as a secretary and board member of the New England Association of College Research Libraries.
Judy was also active in important work in the larger community. She coordinated the Brunswick-Bowdoin College Community Read featuring in-depth conversations about class and economic differences in the Mid Coast region, and she was a long-time member of the Tedford Housing Board of Directors, where she chaired the marketing and development committee. She and Paul were volunteers at Mid Coast Hunger Prevention and they worked with Merrymeeting Gleaners to harvest surplus produce from local farms to distribute to those without sufficient food. In 2012, Judy was honored with the McKeen Center Staff Award for Commitment to Community. A year later, she was the recipient of the Polar Award for Leadership.
Memorial arrangements are pending and will be shared with the campus community when they become available.
Those who encountered Judy in the years since she left the College know how much she was enjoying her retirement, which makes this shocking accident even more tragic. Our hearts go out to members of Judy’s and Paul’s families and to their many friends at the College and in the Brunswick community where they lived for more than forty years.
Sincerely,
Clayton