Judith Lee (Finkeldei) Fox

Judith Lee (Finkeldei) Fox, 1937-2023 

Judith Lee Finkeldei was born to Margaret and Urban Finkeldei of Fowler, Kansas on October 13, 1937 in Meade, Kansas. Judith attended St. Anthony Catholic grade school and graduated from Fowler High School in 1954.

She was stricken with polio in 1950 losing partial use of her right lung and right leg. Judith was always a fighter and through much hard work regained her ability to walk.

She attended nurses training in Halstead, Kansas. Asked why she wanted to be a nurse, she replied “the nurses were always so kind to me when I was in the hospital, I wanted to be like them. When I was hospitalized for polio the Iron Lung was outside of my room.”

Judith moved to Burbank, California in 1959 and continued her career in nursing. She was married for 17 years to James Kuhns.

After a long career as a nurse and serving in Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, Judith retired and moved to Sun City in Georgetown, Texas in March, 1998 and continued her busy life. 

Judith always loved music and had a beautiful soprano voice. She was trained as a Bel Canto soprano and sang in many church choirs and choral groups. She also played the piano and alto saxophone. Later on she studied the Oboe and Celtic Harp.

She led congregations and sang in the choir at Saint Helen’s church in Georgetown and later was cantor at Santa Rosa de Lima in Andice, Texas. She also sang and played harp at various facilities in Georgetown and the surrounding areas. Her performance record includes 50 years of singing in choirs and various vocal groups in Los Angeles and Georgetown. Additionally, she was a member of Friends of the Library and the computer club in Sun City.

Judith was diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome in 1998. Already physically active Judith continued to actively pursue swimming and strength training as part of her regular routine. 

Judith’s other love was felines. She had many cats throughout her life. Patches was her first cat when she was little and the last were Tai Yi and Nigel, with many other cats in between.

She also loved to travel and visited many places including Egypt, Australia and Hawaii.

Judith passed away on April 1, 2023. She was preceded in death by both her parents and is survived by her sister, Gail and her husband Allan Frank of Valley Village, California. Note: Her sister, Gail passed away on August 29, 2025.

 A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on March 20, 2026 at 1:00 PM at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 10800 Moorpark St., North Hollywood, CA. 91602. Judith will be inurned at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, in Mission Hills, CA. We ask that in lieu of flowers that you donate in Judith’s name to your favorite charity. Memories can be left on the website: https://www.centraltexascremation.com/obituaries/   

You may contact the family at Allan@allanfrankmusic.com