Judith Lynn Shematek

Judith Lynn Shematek, age 76, passed peacefully at her residence on February 12, 2025.

She was born March 8, 1948 in Beckley, West Virginia, as a coal miner’s daughter, and grew up in Morgantown, WV. She moved with her family to Fort Worth, Texas her senior year of high school and attended Texas Christian University where she studied elementary education and psychology. Her parents and siblings moved to Hampton, Virginia while her stepfather was serving in the Army in Vietnam and she made the journey with them. Here is where she met the love of her life, her devoted husband, Robert George Shematek Sr., and his young son, Robert George Shematek, Jr, who she adopted upon their marriage in 1970. Their family grew with the birth of their daughter, Amber Shematek (Von Harten), and they settled in Yorktown, VA. Judy served as a Brownies troop leader and President of the Parent Teacher Association at Seaford Elementary, volunteered with hospice, and later worked at a local radio station even doing voice overs for commercials before eventually becoming a manager at the local Barnes & Noble Bookseller. She was a survivor of both melanoma and colon cancer.

Judy was an environmentalist at heart and especially loved supporting coastal and ocean issues. Her happy place was anywhere near the ocean where she found joy in swimming, crabbing, and walking the beach. She was an avid birdwatcher and their backyard was filled with bird feeders to attract birds. She often spent time birding along the many miles of roads along the Yorktown battlefields and Colonial Parkway. Flower gardening and working on the landscape in their yard at their home in Seaford, VA was also one of her favorite pastimes.

She loved her family deeply, especially her children and grandchildren, and was grateful for the times when they could gather and be together. She spent her last years residing at York Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where she and her husband were provided loving care and support from the care team, residents, and their families during her long goodbye.

Judy was preceded in death by her parents Winton Tabor and Drema Gay Mackay, her step fathers Charles A. Haley and Donald F. Mackay, and brother, Michael (Diane) Haley.

Judy is survived by her loving husband, Bob; son, Rob (Lynn) Shematek and daughter, Amber (Bo) Von Harten; brother, Rev. Dr. Bill (Fran) Haley and sister, Melanie (Jeffrey) Seward, and many nieces and nephews; and her grandchildren, Audrey (James) Turner, Katie (Robbie) Vogler, and Joey Shematek.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in her honor can be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (https://www.cbf.org/join-us/more-ways-to-give/memorial-giving.html) or the American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org/).