Clara Lou (King) Judge

Clara Lou (King) Judge, 89, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 surrounded by her family in Greenville, Wisconsin. Clara was just a few days away of turning 90 years old, as she was born October 3, 1936 to Elmer and Clara King of Detroit, Michigan. Clara graduated from Cass Tech High School in 1954. During High School she worked as an intern at Michigan Mutual in Detroit. Clara began her career there as she was hired after graduation and worked as an administrative assistant and was vested in the company so she could make deposits at times. One of the perks Clara enjoyed while working at Michigan Mutual, was she often received tickets to Lions and Tigers games from her boss. 

Clara was united in marriage to Denis Judge on October 1, 1966.  Clara and Denis started their marriage living in Detroit, but after their sons Lewis and Denis were born, they raised their family in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Clara saw many advances in society and technology during her life.  She was very excited to purchase in the 1980s the first home computer for her sons, and she enjoyed keeping up with the latest technical advances.    

The love to travel was ignited in Clara when was a young girl living with her parents. Her father was a school teacher and their many summer trips included a five-day car drive to California and many camping trips up north.  Clara continued to travel with her husband in which they enjoyed fishing and gambling trips to casinos in northern Michigan. Clara and Denis also enjoyed visiting Alaska and Ireland. Every summer for many years Clara took a road trip with her girlfriends to various flower gardens such as in Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Clara enjoyed trips with her family and grandchildren to Disney Land, camping in the motor home to watch her grandson's baseball games, visiting the cabin in Twin Lakes, Michigan, and even accompanied her granddaughter's band trips to Mackinac Island and Hawaii. Clara had a special hobby of collecting models of lighthouses.  

Clara and her husband enjoyed their seasonal home in Caseville, MI and moved there permanently in 1994 when Denis retired. Clara enjoyed employment and meeting the community in the Caseville area where she worked at the Pigeon Library and the Sleeper State park. Clara and her husband were both active members of the Caseville Fraternal Order of Eagles, and Clara even served as president of the Eagles auxiliary. 

Clara is survived by her son Denis (Michelle Vincent), grandson Kevin Judge of Oxford, Michigan; son Lewis (Rhonda), granddaughter Sydney Judge of Greenville, WI; granddaughter Brittney (Allen Jeffrey) Graff of Hartford, Wisconsin. Sister-in-Law Maryann Judge; special nieces and nephews: Peggy Hoffman; Margaret (Mike) Segul; Denis (Kris) Carmody, Mike Carmody, John (Dayna) Carmody; Don Northrup; Susan (Russell) Canning; Chris (Tami) Judge.  Several great nieces, nephews and special friends.

Clara was preceded in death by her husband Denis; sister Florabelle, brother Lewis; sister-in-law Mary Carmody; brother-in-law John Judge; special nieces Katie Macknis,  Maureen Northrup and great niece Erin Canning. 

There will be a celebration of life for Clara on Saturday, October 10 at 1:00 p.m. at the Caseville Fraternal Order of Eagles, address 7017 E. Park Street, Caseville, Michigan. There will be a memorial ritual sponsored by the Eagles auxillary before the luncheon is served. For online condolences, please visit www.valleyfh.com.

In Lieu of Flowers, please consider a memorial gift in honor of Clara be made to the Pigeon District library. Checks can be made payable to "Friends of the Pigeon District Library" with a note in the memo line designating it as a memorial in honor of Clara Judge.

Mailing address:

Pigeon District Library 

7236 Nitz Street

P.O. Box 357

Pigeon, MI 48755

The family would like to extend their sincere thank you to Clara's caregivers: Plema, Blanche and Janelle; the Theda Care Hospice Team, Appleton Wisconsin and to the Caseville Fraternal Order of Eagles. 

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.