Dr. Judith Marie Ronan

Dr. Judith "Judy" Marie Ronan died on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at The Loft Rehabilitation & Nursing of Normal in Normal, IL at the age of 78. She was born on March 19, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan to Howard and Sylvia Kwolek Ronan. Her daughter, Kathleen Therese, and grandson, Timothy, preceded in her death.

Dr. Ronan had many fond memories of her Catholic education in Michigan. She attended Christ the Good Shepherd Elementary School in Lincoln Park and All Saints Academy High School in Detroit.

Dr. Ronan earned a bachelor's degree education from Michigan State University, a master's degree in special education from Eastern Michigan University, a second master's degree in mathematics education from the University of Detroit, and a doctorate in education from Illinois State University. She held many jobs to earn money for her education. She was as one of the first female mail carriers in Detroit. During the summer of the Detroit 1967 riots, she delivered the mail amid the many dangers presented by the riots. 

Her career as a dedicated educator and advocate for the disabled spanned thirty years. She taught both in Michigan and Illinois to a diverse population of students and was recognized in "Who's Who in American Education."

In Michigan, after the death of both her daughter and grandson, Dr. Ronan was instrumental in the passage of the grandparent rights law allowing the grandparents the legal right to seek custody of their grandchildren.

She loved being a liturgical musician for more than thirty years. She began playing a pump organ and eventually she played the third largest pipe organ in the world and saw the second. She was both an instrumental and vocal musician. Her love for music inspired her to choose Cecilia as her confirmation name after St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music.

She loved her travels in Europe, Canada, and the United States conducting research; either performing concerts or attending her daughter's concerts in Europe; performing in the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland; as well as traveling throughout the United States and Canada with her daughter competing in Irish step dance and both earning medals.

Visitation will take place on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 9:30 am prior to a Latin funeral mass at Christ the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Lincoln Park, MI. The mass will be celebrated by Pastor David Bechill and homily given by Fr. Peter Doughtery of Lansing, MI. Burial be a Sacred Heart Cemetery in Grosse Ile, MI.