Maryann Lofft - Judge

Maryann Lofft-Judge passed away suddenly on December 31, 2015.  She was born and raised in Buffalo NY, the daughter of Bernard Thomas Lofft and Grace Geraldine (Eltges) Lofft, both deceased.  Ms. Lofft-Judge was one of 11 siblings.  She is survived by four of her brothers and five of her sisters, as well as by her four children.

Ms. Lofft-Judge lived in Ayer, MA, Asmara, Ethiopia, Pierre, SD, Ft Huachuca and Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL, before settling in Baltimore, MD to be near her family.  She was a graduate of Bishop McMahon High School in Buffalo, NY.  She received a Bachelor of Arts in the Humanities from Florida International University with credits from Rosary Hill College in Amherst, NY, credits from University of Maryland, College Park, for her studies in Italian while in Asmara, and credits from the University of Arizona for her studies in elementary education.

Ms. Lofft-Judge was a parishioner at St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church.  She contributed her skills as a gardener towards weeding the church beds and demonstrated her commitment to the community by collecting and boxing food for the holiday food box program.

She recently retired from Greater Homewood, now known as Strong Baltimore, where she provided administrative support to the Adult Learning Center.  She greatly enjoyed the sense of doing work that was meaningful and helping others improve their lives by helping them earn their GED.  She placed great value in teaching others to become part of the American Dream, working for a time teaching English to new arrivals to America.

Ms. Lofft-Judge also worked as a database coordinator for the Learning Bank in Baltimore, where she tracked learners’ progress and trained coworkers on the database usage.  She previously was employed as an invoicing specialist with ChartOne inJessup and as a junior loan administrator for The Columbia Bank.

As a young woman, Ms. Lofft-Judge had a dream of being an astronaut.  As an adult, she held a motorcycle license and commuted to work on her motorcycle when she lived in Miami.

Ms. Lofft-Judge was a kind and generous person, always willing to help family in their endeavors.  She was extensively involved in her extended family, attending family reunions and celebrations, taking a great niece to plays, and remembering birthdays with a card.  Ms. Lofft-Judge especially enjoyed being with young children and spent time with the children in her neighborhood.  She took them on outings to the art museum and other cultural events.

She also enjoyed gardening and took great delight every spring in the arrival of new flowers and in planning for her garden plot.  Ms. Lofft-Judge demonstrated her commitment to continuous learning through activities such as learning home repair and upkeep skills, and she had recently enrolled in a course to learn about electricity in her home.

She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and neighbors.

A funeral Mass will be held at 12 noon on Monday, 11 January 2016, at Resurrection of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church in Laurel.  Ms. Lofft-Judge will be laid to rest directly thereafter at St. John’s cemetery, located in Ellicott City, MD.  Funeral home visiting hours:  Sunday, 10 January, 2-4 pm at Candle Light Funeral Home on Old Frederick Road.