By CASEY NEILL
DANDENONG RSL is mourning the loss of “a most remarkable lady and a very good friend”.
Berwick resident Judy Murdoch passed away peacefully on 3 September following a cancer battle.
Dandenong sub-branch president John Wells said she knew the deeper meanings of the red poppy.
Judy’s father Jim Hardy was the sub-branch president for 13 years and was “revered across the state”.
Her mother Anne made her mark in the Dandenong Ladies Auxiliary, started in 1936 and formally organised in 1949.
“They were a couple among the ‘royalty’ of the RSL, and Judy was brought up with the Anzac spirit and the RSL ethics as part of her life,” John said.
“But Judy – and it was a brave man indeed who would call her Judith – was to make her own mark in her own inimitable way.
“She went to her first auxiliary meeting in a pusher, but when she got her driving licence she was appointed with no consultation at all as a volunteer driver for the auxiliary, even in her lunch hours.
“It didn’t worry her, because she had grown up with idea of service to others.”
John said that with her drive and commitment, it was inevitable that Judy would become a leader for the local auxiliary for more years than she would admit.
“And president for many, many years. The leadership she provided was very real and very effective as the auxiliary evolved and became an ever more important part of the RSL,” John said.
Judy was elected State Branch Ladies Auxiliary president, providing leadership and support to auxiliaries all over Victoria and sometimes interstate.
When her three years as president came to an end, those in charge changed the rules so she could stay on, and she clocked up nine years in the position.
John said Judy was a few years ago elected to the Dandenong sub-branch committee.
“She was the first women in that position and, thanks to her pioneering ways, she will not be the last,” he said.
“She has always been a proud servant of the values with which she grew up.
“She has done more good in more ways than most of us will ever know about.”
Greater Dandenong Councillor John Kelly said Judy “was a legend around the town and will be sadly missed”.
Judy will be farewelled at a service at St Michael’s in Berwick at 11am on Thursday 10 September, followed by a private cremation.
