Thank you for your patience as I continue to add to this page. Love, Cassie
Judith “Judy” Ann Breese, 51, passed away with her family by her side on March 8, 2021, after a valiant fight against glioblastoma.
She was born on July 21, 1969 in Huntington Park, California, the daughter of Larry and Marsha (Crooks) Drake. Judy was united in marriage to George Breese on June 10th, 1995.
Judy worked outside the home with the Boy Scouts of America, but her favorite job was being a wife and mother. She always put her family first and rarely sat idle. She was actively involved with her children’s activities, sports teams and church youth groups. Judy was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in New Hartford where she taught children’s Sunday School, Awana, was a youth group coordinator and even a custodian. Her heart shined through for friends who easily became family. She also had a great love for animals and rescued many throughout the years. She never wanted to leave when they were at a zoo or animal park.
Judy will be missed greatly by her husband, George; daughter Cassie Breese and her partner Daniel Manion, whom Judy treated like a son; her son Alex Breese; and her father, Larry Drake, affectionately known as Poppy.
Words from Cassie..
How do I tell you about the woman who created the person I am today? How do I put into words who she was and the imprint she left on our hearts? How do I explain the incredibly special relationship we shared? My Dad told me it will be impossible. Impossible to put a lifetime with her into words. This is me trying to give you a glimpse into that; of her soul and the Mother I'll always know her as.
She is Home to me. She made sure I always felt safe, and not just protected, but safe to be myself. A true guardian.
From the beginning, I was not originally in her plans at that time in her life. At 21, she was already making sacrifices for myself, having to put a halt on her education in order to take care of me. She told me once how she used coloring book pages to decorate my nursery with. That's the kind of love I encountered before I could even remember.
I wish I could pass on the feeling of pride I felt growing up knowing that everyone knew that was MY Mom. She was the Mom that filled the void a lot of my childhood friends had from their own homelife. In elementary school, she would come in my classroom for every holiday party with goodie bags for the class. Of course she would let me pick out my favorite colors and flavors while we put them together. People always gravitated to her and she made it easy with open arms. She always stayed grounded, true to herself, and you were always aware how she was feeling. She was the true definition of wearing your heart on your sleeve and I followed suit. I used to view showing emotion as a fault, a weak point in our character. Overtime, with her help, I've learned it was one of our greatest strengths. It's a part of who we are. I think the woman in our family just have extra large tear ducts. Sometimes though, over the years, I've watched many people try to take advantage of my Mom. Her huge heart made her vulnerable to those who didn't walk in the same light. Still though, she somehow would find forgiveness for others time and time again. I think we could all take a little page from her book.
She's the glue that held our family and friends together. She didn't believe in labels to categorize our loved ones. I feel for all of you who may not have been specifically mentioned by blood, but know you are truly loved like her Sister, Brother, Daughter, or Son. I can't think her enough for all that she's done and the environment she provided us. She rooted me, she was my foundation. She nurtured me, so I can be the human that stands before you today. I hope to carry on and share her compassion, sympathy, and fight. Just like herself, she called me strong. In times like these I question that, although she's given me nothing but the confidence to believe so. She was like the rainforest canopy that would protect you from the rain meanwhile, let you create your own path in life. Through the many heartbreaks and obstacles I encountered, she was right there wishing she could take the pain away and take it on as her own. Though every once and a while she couldn't help but throw an "I told you so" in there. My entire life I've never had to question her support or how loved I was by my parents. Even missing one volleyball game seemed to cause her distress. I'm beyond thankful to have a Mom that gave me love notes in my lunchbox and to have a stack of "just because I'm missing you" cards that I can look back on. She always had the right thing to say and that motherly instinct to know when I needed her words of encouragement the most. In one of the cards, she had mentioned that God whispered in her ear that I needed to hear this from her. Another occurrence of this happened in my teenage years when she told me that God was telling her to look into my phone. Funny enough, she was right then too. I'm glad she pushed me to be the best version of myself and kept me accountable. She knew me to the core and we were connected even when thousands of miles apart.
Moving out of state with so much unknown had to be one of the toughest challenges I've taken on. Moving away from all that I have known, and the ones who knew me best. I think forward to the future when I have children, that one day they will need to leave under my wing as well and how scary that had to be for my parents. I promise to do my best to pass on that special love. Mom and Dad, know that I am forever grateful for my upbringing and your unconditional love for Alex and myself. I also thank you for loving Daniel as your own.
Mom, there are a lot of memories still to be made in my life and I know you will be there every step of the way looking down, probably rolling your eyes in some moments, but I hope the rest are filled full of smiles and laughter. I was always your angel, and now you're mine.
Love you always to the moon and back on our own pink spaceship,
your baby girl and best friend,
Cass
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