I just received the ARBA Domestic Rabbits magazine and learned that Judy Paris has passed away. The note is on page 63 of the current issue, November/December 2025 issue. There was not a write-up about her, just a listing. Her passing makes me sad and not seeing anything written up about her makes me even feel worse. I'd like to share some of my memories and the past blogposts.
I met Judy in 1986 when I went to my first out-of-state show. It was the 1986 Angora National held at Puyallup, WA. It was before the acceptance of Giant Angora and Satin Angora, so the National only had two breeds, the English Angora and the French Angora. There were a lot of breeders/exhibitors and numbers. The blower had yet to be a grooming tool, each exhibitor would have 2-6 rabbits in shows as it was very difficult to keep many in coat. There were over 300 Angoras at that National, around 250 English and 100 plus French. Judy was one of club board members who worked to put on the show. See:
Northern California Angora Guild: Remember When: Angora National in 1986
We only met briefly in 1986, I accepted the trophy from her and Donna. When the ARBA convention came along in the fall, I heard that she won the English Angora BOB with a black senior doe at the 1986 convention at Columbus, OH. I had yet to go to any conventions, her winning made a big impression on me.
Judy moved from WA to MO for love, then moved back to WA a few years later. When I saw her again, she had gotten her judge's license. From then on we saw her in our local shows often, see some of the show photos:
Northern California Angora Guild: NCAG show winners
Northern California Angora Guild: Camp Angora
Judy judged Angoras at two ARBA conventions in 1999 and 2007, see:
Northern California Angora Guild: Remember When: 1999 ARBA Convention at Louisville, KY
Northern California Angora Guild: Sevenah Wins Best Of Breed At ARBA Convention
and she had judged in Japan:
Northern California Angora Guild: Judge Judy Goes to Japan
she is also into showing dogs:
Northern California Angora Guild: Baby Thunder is Now a Big Show Dog
The thing I remember her the most was her free spirit and her sense of humor. Here is a breeding advice she gave to us that most judges would not have done: The Angoras in the old days tend to have pinched hindquarters. During one show at Reno, Judy turned around and said to us, "Look at my butt, you want your Angora to have a round butt like mine." For a few years when we were breeding and picking keepers, the words were, "Are we getting a Judy Paris butt?"
Another interesting thing she did was when I discuss the perils of the wooden judging coops at the convention, she joined in to give her 2 cents worth, please read the very end of this blog post:
Northern California Angora Guild: Convention Judging Coops, Old and New
Though we had not seen her for a while since she retired her judge's license, she was very much missed. Judy, love you and rest in peace.
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