Judith Worton Wilbert

Judith (Worton) Wilbert 

Born July 3, 1938, died November 6, 2026 at the Keuka Comfort Care Home in Penn Yan, New York at the age of 88.

Those who knew and loved Judy describe her as a joyful and caring friend, relative, and neighbor, who believed in unconditional positive regard and found peace in spending time in nature

Judy was born in Detroit, Michigan as the third child and first daughter in a family of five children. She and her family moved to Yale, MI where her family owned and operated the town’s grocery. She fondly remembered the time they spent living on a farm and attending a one-room schoolhouse. After the family moved to town, she enjoyed swimming in Lake Huron in the summer and skating on the Oxbow in Mill Creek in winter. A car trip to New York with family friends and a train trip to Washington DC during high school convinced her that she wanted to move east. She attended Alma College in Michigan and Cabrini College in Pennsylvania.

She worked for several decades as a teacher at Central Nursery School in Wayne, PA. After retiring to Dundee, she worked as an educator at Fullagar Farm and the Oliver House Museum. Judy loved music, especially singer-songwriters of the 1970s, being in nature, and reading. She loved to sing whether in choir, the car, or the kitchen. Her most treasured place was the bench by the woods on her property along Crystal Valley Road where in her later years she would sit and greet the day. She was active and an activist, enjoying hiking and cross-country skiing and campaigning for causes including civil rights, women’s rights, anti-war, and environmental justice. She was a consummate creator of community whether in the churches she was a member of, her neighborhoods, her book clubs or the many community organizations in which she served often as a volunteer or board member, including Habitat for Humanity of Yates County, the Yates County Historical Society, Milly’s Pantry, Yates County Progressives, and the Cobblestone Springs Retreat Center. It was rare to accompany her anywhere in Yates County without running into someone whom she would introduce as a friend.

Judy is preceded in death by her father and mother (David and Barbara Worton), her brothers David (Jan) Worton, James (Donna) Worton, her son Stephen Cotter, and her grandson Wayne Wetzel. She is survived by her husband of 47 years Jack Wilbert, son David (Ruth) Cotter, daughter Martha (Phillip) Minter, and stepdaughters Kristin (Lou) Durbec and Diane (Ken) Davis as well as her two sisters Janet Foster and Babs (Jim) Ruggles, and numerous nieces and nephews. She is survived as well by her grandchildren Danielle, Sam, Emma, Libby, Timothy, Katelynne, and Olivia, and five great-grandchildren. Finally, she is survived by countless friends--both lifelong and recent--whose lives she touched with her charm and compassion.

A celebration of Judy’s life will be held at the Penn Yan First Presbyterian Church in Spring 2027. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Judy’s name to Yates County Habitat for Humanity (P.O. Box 391, Penn Yan, NY 14527) or to Keuka Comfort Care Home (P.O. Box 107, Penn Yan, NY 14527). You may offer remembrances and condolences to Judy’s family in her guestbook at www.WeldonFuneralHome.com. Arrangements entrusted to Weldon Funeral Home.