Meet Judy Surdez

Judy Faye Surdez has come to live with us at Caring House. We are honored.

Judy was born in in South Dakota, the only child of Marie (Abbas) Orstad and Harry A. Orstad. When she was only three years old, her mother passed away, and from then on, her aunt Hazel and uncle Harold Grayson raised her, first in Worthing and then Sioux Falls, both in rural South Dakota.

Attending Baltic High School in Baltic, South Dakota, Judy participated in high school drama, once becoming Queen of the Sweethearts Dance – together with her future husband, Alan, who was the King! After high school, she went on to Stewart School of Hair Styling in Sioux Falls, but found she did not enjoy this line of work, and therefore never worked as a hair stylist.

She soon married her high school sweetheart, Alan Surdez, together with whom she had been in a high school play. They began their life together in Orange County, California, and had three children – daughter Diane Marie, who is the mother of her granddaughter Patience Leigh, and two sons, Will and Leigh Alan. Sadly, Will died at birth, and Leigh Alan died as a teenager.

In the 1980s, after many years of being a full-time mother, Judy opened her own business for secretarial services, which grew primarily into services for medical transcription. For a period of years, she also sold crystal rocks. She has stayed in the Orange County and Los Angeles area most of her adult life, including Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance.

Besides having a keen interest in metaphysics, she enjoys eagle nest watching, and loves exploring with her dearest friend, Sheri. Judy is the kindest, sweetest person you’ll ever meet, so quiet and gentle – the Orstad way!

We are glad Judy is with us at Caring House. We look forward to caring for this strong, enterprising, sweet and kind woman.

In Memoriam

Judy passed away on August 21, 2021. Honor her. Remember her.