Words and their power, when properly used, have been part of Judy Reach LaRocca's life from early childhood. Her mother was a schoolteacher who gave her entire family of five children a desire for education while stressing correct grammar, polite manners, and a healthy curiosity. Her father held a job of great authority as a Special Investigator for the Alcohol and Tax Division for the state of Georgia; however, his good nature and gentleness created an appreciation of humor and inspired an active imagination in each of the children.
Having these role models in her life gave Judy a love for learning, while always using her imagination and humor to keep a balance in her life. When taking an English course in college, she began to fully appreciate poetry and prose and began committing to paper her thoughts in these forms. Her love of writing was sparked.
The author's early working years began as a teen with many part-time jobs. Moving to Atlanta she had a position as Office Manager for a doctor performing cancer research at Emory University. During the 1960s, she had a career with Delta Airlines as a Stewardess stationed in Atlanta and New Orleans. She was able to travel even taking her mother on a European tour to Brussels Belgium, Zurich Switzerland, Paris France and Rome Italy.
She met and married Bob LaRocca in Daytona Beach when she was the Placement Officer for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. They moved to Hartford, Connecticut where Bob began his career as an Aeronautical Engineer and where they started their own family. Judy and Bob loved and missed the warm weather, so after five years of being in the north, they decided to return to the south. They eventually settled in Jacksonville, Florida, where they resided for over forty years, They now live just a little south of Mandarin in Saint Johns, Florida.
Judy worked with a Real Estate Appraiser in Jacksonville and also spent time helping out at the Georgie Girl fashion boutique. There she learned to plan fashion shows and the retail business, finally opening her own boutiques, Judy 's of Mandarin, and Classy Lady boutiques, carrying a unique line of clothing and accessories. This endeavor was a joy for this author not only from working with people but planning, creating and moderating many fashion productions.
After Judy's husband opened his own business, Reeves Insulation and Construction, this became the center of their lives, for more than Thirty-Five years. The family has worked together toward making it the thriving business it is today and now their son Tony LaRocca is running the business as President of Reeves, Inc., Bob is always available if needed.
Being blessed with two daughters and one son, they now have four grandsons and two granddaughters who make their lives very full and happy. At last the author has been given the gift of time to write more often and put into words the richness of a life, by no means always lived perfectly, but lived with faith and love always with a little humor into the mix.
Her first book Judy's Story of Waycross tells of her first years in a thriving South Georgia town in the 1940s. Then she branched out to create a fanciful and fun fairy tale, The Adventures of Benji, Pansy, and Herzhog, a full-color book with personalized illustrations. Characters such as Fizzle BoomDiggle and Harry HobGob will leave you laughing. This book, Decatur Stories: The 1950s with Judy has become her favorite to write as she recalls her preteen and teen years. Filled with emotion, humor, charm and written in conversational tone, it shows happy and growing years for her Reach family in beautiful North Geogia.
So it is that Judy's roots began in Waycross, but with each move, each change, and each new adventure, she and her Reach family and her own LaRocca family, have had a great ride. Granted, there have been a few downs, but many more ups, all leading to where and who she is today she is simply Judy Reach LaRocca, a wife of Bob's for fifty-five years, a mother to Beth Tony and Len, a grandmother to Michael, Christopher, Nick, Katie, Jacob and Amy. All are blessings, for Family and Faith are Everything in Life.
Now she is an author of books who writes poetry and short stories and is eager to share them
Remember: "A touch of humor along the path of life makes the journey easier."