Modern Vespa

Over the years, MV has lost a lot of people. Too many. I'm not talking about the people who merely drifted away, though I feel the absence of many of those members acutely. I'm talking about the people who have shuffled off this mortal coil, some of whom have left a larger-than-life hole in our collective lives. Ashrat. Julie. Al. Judy. These are people whose daily interactions were so vital to Modern Vespa, whose absence we will continue to feel for many years to come.

I can't pretend that anything we do here will fill the void left by them. The best we can do is to honor and remember those who had such a significant presence in our lives.

I would therefore like to posthumously bestow our very own Judy Rossman with an award created specially for her, an homage to her long-standing avatar. From this moment forward, Judy's account will bear a one-of-a-kind red toaster award, in remembrance of her contributions here.

Below is a large version of the award. You can see the smaller version on her account here: https://modernvespa.com/members/judy

Awesome. This topic has mixed emotions as its a reminder that Judy is no longer a contributor but is with us in our hearts as Vespa royalty riding to the Hawaiian sunset.

A toast to that, and to Judy.

A fitting tribute, well done for honouring her.

She and I were in private contact and we exchanged photos of the most beautiful places and talked about gastronomy.
I really miss...
Can I propose a closed topic managed only by the administrator in which there is a post with a photo for each of the MV members who have flown up to the sky?
A sort of "remember me" to visit in meditation.

Perfect. It's more than deserved.

Thank you, this is well deserved, it always makes me feel better when I come across an old post from Judy.

I never got to meet her, but she was always so kind and encouraging. She was always learning something new, and then sharing that knowledge freely. She's definitely missed.

Excellent.

somerset

How many BTU per hour does that toaster put out?

Also, I love this:

This is a nice gesture. I am sure Judy is smiling about this.

(I've added it to the forum awards listing: FAQ: What are all the Forum Awards & How do I get them? )

Miss her to no end, she was like everyone's big sister. She's in my thoughts regularly. A fitting tribute.

Nice, Jess.

She was the most interesting, kind, and helpful person I never met.

What an extraordinary gesture. Says a lot about the people here and the folks who make it all work.

My only connection to her was through this forum. Several times she has chimed in with suggestions and ideas on fixing something on my Vespa, offered to be a guide if I visited HI.
I never got to meet her in person but just based on her writings I would say she was a kindred spirit and a Red Toaster is a nice way to remember her, she popped in and out like bread pops in and out of that Red Toaster.
Even now I see threads with posts referencing to her and I have to do a double take and see the date to make sure I am not hallucinating.
Good for you to honor her this way mate.

"Our Friend Judy"

Yup. Very fitting.

Well-deserved.

Thank you!

Man, what a kick in the gut it was to learn a few months ago of her passing. We'd emailed back and forth during my absence here, and talked on the phone once, where we chatted endlessly like little school girls. That phone call was my last contact with her. Finding out how she went out, I wish I'd been more attentive.

(Now I can't seem to see the keyboard...)

Judy was a dear friend of mine. We never met each other but we spoke on the phone.

She was always sending presents to me. The first one was a Givi luggage rack bag and the last was a Vespa (Red) t-shirt. I am not sure but I think that for each red 946 Vespa some money is donated by Piaggio to help those living with HIV in developing countries. Now just how wonderful a gesture was that?

I agree with Jess. She was irreplaceable and deserves a special award.

Awesome and well deserved. Judy was an amazing individual and contributor to MV. Always that calming voice of reason. Had the privilege of having many private discussions with her in regards to life and the welfare of many MV members. You probably wouldn't be surprised at how many members she helped in the background during their time of need. No more words can describe.

Jess, thank you so much for doing this awesome award. I'm sure you've made Judy's smile even larger today. Definitely, making our MV community smile.

Bob

I'm just seeing this now and also want to add my thank you. It does not bring her back but it helps pay tribute someone many of us dearly miss.

Thanks for that!

My wife and I went on a 28 day cruise of the Pacific a few years back and just for fun I had messaged Judy asking for ideas on things to see during our one day on Oahu.

Well she said what day you going to be there? Told her the day and she said I'll find something and we can meet up for the day. Now I may have been on MV for a couple years and she may have seen a post or two of mine but just out of the blue she was willing to take a day off to spend time with a couple strangers.

The only thing I regret is we didn't have more time to spend with her it was the highlight of the 28 days for me! We did get a private tour of the Chinatown area of Honolulu!

Outstanding Jess and well deserved

Forgot to mention on my previous post, Fred Haise, Apollo 13 LMP astronaut, absolutely loved Judy's posts of Dillingham Air Field. So much so, he sent her this..

I did not know she passed. We exchanged lots of gifts over the years. Great person. Sad to hear this

Judy stayed a few days with me in Breckenridge and I posted a rare photo of Judy riding in long pants while it was snowing on our Derbi. Next time I saw her was as we walked off a cruise ship in Honolulu. My husband said "there's a Vespa coming towards the ship. " It was Judy coming to help us pick up a couple rental scoots for a guided tour.

The other day Iwas clearing out texts on my phone when I came across the last text from Judy when she was in the hospital. Just like every other times when I was clearing out messages it stayed on my phone.

One of the most generous, lovely people I have ever met. She is definitely missed.

Very appropriate!!

I love that you gave Judy a red toaster!
Judy, Bitza, Al, Vader, Julie, Ashrat, Arno not to mention Rolf, Waid (Scooter Daddy), John Gerber ...

I love when I see a photo or old post that reminds me of any/all those who are riding in the great beyond (even though necro-ing threads gets a fair amount of guff).

Depends on the thread. Necro-ing a thread that's 10 years old to ask a question about whatever was being discussed is annoying. Necro-ing a really good thread to reminisce is completely worthwhile.

Jess, back when you were posting some stats about posts, didn't Judy have the most read post, most liked post, most quoted post, or something like that?

You're probably referring to this page, which shows various statistics, including best rated posts, worst rated posts, and most-rated posts.

made me laugh that bitza had two of the 10 worst rated posts

He didn't really have much of a filter.

A star in his own way....

Agreed.

Most-wonderful thing for you to do, Jess. I have a rather short list of people I've never met in-person and wish-to-hell I had, and Judy is right in there. A more-than-fitting tribute.

This is beautiful. Miss her for sure. My favorite memory of Judy besides telling us 1000 times her Vespa came from Bobby in Santa Barbara was the year she got me as the secret Santa exchange.

She sent me two items. A bag of nuts from Hawaii and a patch for my riding jacket. The patch said "asshole merit badge".

She was awesome.

SDG

Very touching tribute. Judy and I had an ongoing correspondence, on and off the forum. When I wrote her to tell her a friend of my daughter was going to be working in Hawaii for a few months after finishing her army service here, Judy wrote up a long list of great tips for a newcomer to the islands, and even offered to host her for a few days at her house.

Judy was taken far too soon, but there is small comfort to be had in knowing that she packed ten lifetimes worth of work, adventures, and kindness into the time she had here on earth.

Her life was an incredible example to everyone who was blessed to have known her.