home on Sunday morning
Pat, Phil, and Marian) seated on a
wagon at a local fair.
LaMarche, on their wedding day
I never knew "Genny Judge" by that name. By the time I knew her, she was Genny LaMarche.
Above all, my mother believed in justice. She was against bigotry and discrimination of any kind.
She was a champion of the underdog, and through her actions, taught us that it was our job as human beings to protect those less fortunate.
She felt that hunger was the ultimate injustice. Maybe it was her Irish famine roots, but I don't think that my mom could eat without thinking about the hungry.
As a result, none of her five kids could either. My earliest memories are of Mom saving pennies to feed other folks, even when we were not well off ourselves.
Genny Judge LaMarche brought us up to do what was right. For her, lying was not only more difficult than telling the truth, but completely inexcusable and cowardly.
For her, any ounce of strength we had in our bodies was to be put to the use of those less fortunate.
The ironic thing about her name was that she did not judge anyone before helping them.
Two weeks after she died in 1998, I got a radio job in Augusta. Like many media personalities, I needed an on-air name, so I took my mom's.
It gave me the double benefit of getting the job and keeping her legacy alive whenever I do the type of community involvement work that she inspired.
