Judith Carole Dow

Judith Carole Dow, 83, of Indianapolis passed away on February 20, 2022. Judith was born in Lafayette, IN to Edna (Baxter) and Phillip Dow on December 29, 1938. Judith’s passions were reading, the circus, genealogy, travelling, Irish culture, Gettysburg, the paranormal, IU-Bloomington, and volunteering. Judith enjoyed socializing with her friends.

Judith loved reading and was rarely without a book. She cultivated that love of reading in her daughters and her granddaughter. Judith loved the circus. Her favorite part of the circus was the trapeze. She attended as many showings of the circus as she could, whether it was Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey, the Peru Youth Circus, or the Shrine circus. If all of her days could have been circus days, she would have loved that.

Judith had a life-long love of genealogy. When ancestry.com became an option, she was very excited to learn who her ancestors were and loved finding out her genetic make-up. Being able to confirm her Irish ancestry and finding out about her French and Nordic roots thrilled her.

Judith loved to travel. She was able to live out several passions while traveling – visiting the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, walking the fields of Gettysburg, seeing the purported haunted cells at Eastern State Penitentiary, attending multiple Irish festivals, and going to her beloved IU Bloomington.

Judith retired from Indianapolis Public Schools in 2009. In addition to her paid work, Judith was active in the community and within her daughters’ schools. For many years, she was the PTO President where she led many successful fundraising events and secured resources for the school’s staff. Judith volunteered for the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, 4-H, and Campfire USA. For years, she gave of her time to make sure her daughters and the kids in the community could be connected to the youth organizations in Indianapolis. To the end of her life, she would be approached by people who participated in the clubs she led; they remembered her fondly and thanked her for being their club leader.

Judith is survived by her daughters Tiffany (Robin), Heather, and Shannon and her granddaughter Hannah, who will miss her “Maimeo”. Judith will be laid to rest in Washington Park East Cemetery. Judith’s Celebration of Life will be on March 5^th at 1pm at Downey Avenue Christian Church, 111 S Downey Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46219. Flowers will be accepted. For those wanting to make a donation in Judith’s memory, they can be made to the International Circus Hall of Fame.