Alan D (Jud) Judkins

Alan D. Judkins, known to everyone as Jud, died at Franciscan Hospice House in Indianapolis on Dec. 20, 2020. He was 93.

He married Irma Rae Swickard in 1949. The couple raised three children, traveled widely, played thousands of games of euchre and shared a love of the Northwoods of Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. Jud and Irma moved from Indianapolis to Greenwood in 2012.

Judkins worked 49 years for Indianapolis Newspapers Inc., parent company of The Indianapolis News and The Indianapolis Star. He began his career while still in high school, riding a bicycle around town to collect past-due bills for classified ads. He retired in 1992 as Director of Advertising, having held that role for 19 years. He loved his job, and was known for arriving hours before his staff, even in winter weather bad enough to close roads and schools.

He served terms as president of the Advertising Club of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Association of Manufacturers Representatives, and as chairman of the board of the Central Indiana Better Business Bureau.

Jud enjoyed entertaining friends and his children’s friends. Though he never learned to waterski himself, he spent many hours patiently driving while three generations of skiers learned to love the sport behind his boat. He carefully baited and rebaited the hooks on children’s fishing lines, while his own tackle sat in the boat ready to go but went unused. He cooked elaborate meals on a camp stove while the rest of a picnicking party hiked the trails in Indiana State Parks. For many years, he and Irma hosted a Christmas Eve open house that drew dozens of friends, relatives and neighbors.

Jud loved gadgets and tools. He was always pleased when a family member would ask for help building something, and he was known for overengineering minor projects: It is said that a Jud-installed shelf bracket or mailbox could survive a meteor strike.

He was proud of a prize muskie he caught in Manitowish Waters. Because he was alone in a rowboat at the time, he worried no one would believe him if he returned to tell of snagging a 4-foot fighter. So Jud landed the feisty fish by himself – and sat on it to keep it from thrashing out of the boat as he rowed back to shore. (He also managed not to spill his drink through the entire episode.) Jud loved puns and jokes, and had several signature punchlines. When a waiter would ask, “How are you tonight?” Jud would reply, “All right for a Tuesday.” (Unless it was Tuesday, in which case he would substitute another day of the week.) That same waiter might ask, “What would you like?” to be met with a response of “Power and glory.” Perhaps his best-known tagline was: “I feel more like I do now than I did earlier.”

The son of Julia F. Mueller and Basil D. Judkins, Jud was born in Indianapolis on May 7, 1927. He was a 1945 graduate of Manual High School and attended the Indianapolis College of Pharmacy.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving in the Philippines just after the end of World War II.

Jud is survived by his wife; children Alan Judkins Jr. of Indianapolis; Jane Stegemiller (Matt) of Indianapolis; and Amy Skoronski (Steve) of Madison, Wisconsin.

 He also leaves behind a sister, Shirley Judkins; grandsons Erik Stegemiller (Amanda Parsons) and Kurt Stegemiller; and great-granddaughter Holley Stegemiller.

Memorial contributions may be made to the North Lakeland Discovery Center, P.O. Box 237, 14006 Discovery Lane, Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, 54545; or online at discoverycenter.net.

There will be no calling or funeral service. Friends may leave online condolences at fountainsquaremortuary.com.

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