Helga Judith Blasser-Faludy

September 22, 1941 - May 28, 2023

Obituary For Helga Judith Blasser-Faludy

Dr. Judith Blasser-Faludy

As you read this obituary, please listen to the ‘Barefoot Diva,’ famed Cape Verdean fado singer
Cesaria Evora. Preferably, ‘Live à Paris, 1993,’ Judith’s fave. Being tipped off to this kind of
information is one of many intercultural, international gifts Judith brought to a friendship.

Dr. Judith Blasser-Faludy, (née Helga Blasser), a longtime Carrboro resident, passed away due to cardiac failure on May 28, 2023. Born in 1941 to Dr. Otto Blasser and Mrs. Magdalena Mesmer Blasser, Judith spent her early childhood in Munich, Germany, and the remainder of her youth in South Africa, where her parents dedicated themselves to missionary work for the needy.

Throughout her life, Judith kept this mission alive with her daily charity: feeding and caring for those in need. As a young woman, she even traveled to China as part of an early humanitarian outreach program.

Judith’s life was largely academic-driven. In 1974, she completed a degree in biological and zoological sciences at UCLA, where she later continued her postgraduate studies in the field of cell biology. Subsequently, she pursued a doctorate degree in dental surgery at McGill University in Montreal, where she applied for American Dental Board certification in 1984. She furthered her postgraduate education at the University of California, Davis.

Over the course of her professional career, Judith worked as a biotechnology researcher, scientist, and inventor. In a lifelong, characteristic spirit of charity, Dr. Blasser donated the patent rights for two breakthrough discoveries in human liver research, focusing on intercellular communication during the aging process, as seed money toward the establishment of a UNC Liver Center exclusively for the benefit of pediatric patients.

In the early 1980s, Judith moved to Carrboro, North Carolina, and she made the town her home for over forty years.

If you knew Judith, you most likely have a story, if you’re lucky, and it’s a shame if you don’t. She kept a bountiful garden, planted scores of trees, spread all manner of herbs and flowers all around town, and left a large circle of friends who will deeply miss her: Ana Guzmán, Lee Cantwell, Kim and Roger Willardson, Adela García de Hess, Nancy Jarrell, Sherri Ontjes, Roy Richardson, Bobby Garni, Charles DeBose, Sunshine Dunham—and her adopted “children”—Tony and Carolyn Hess, and Tommy Willardson.

A Memorial for Judith is planned for the fall. She would love it if you planted a tree somewhere
in her honor. Feel free to share your personal recollections or photos of Judith in the condolence
section.

Photos & Video

Photos

Add New Photos & Video

Condolences

December 11, 2023

Michael

Judith will always be my "Jewish Lab Mother." She taught this young man many things and was a top-class firebrand. I was proud to be able to "handle" her often grumpy demeanor; she was a real-deal mentor to me. We worked very closely together for a couple of years and she was a large part of my life during that time. I will always picture her in a lab coat with Mars Blackmon-style Cazal glasses: she was a huge character and the world is a duller place without her.
July 28, 2023

Whitney C.

This is so precious, Sunshine; thank you for all of your help setting it up, and to Charles who gave so much time to help as well (I was touched to hear him speak about this last week). I met Judith in her garden and she was always urging me to grow my own basil and parsley; that woman loved plants! I always enjoyed seeing her garden and chatting with her at White Oak. Thank you again to all of you who went out of your way and made great sacrifices to care for her. Since my own mother's name is Judith, I felt especially close to her as a neighbor at White Oak.—Blessings to all of you! Whitney
July 25, 2023

Erin & Jon Richardson

I adored Judith. My husband and I got to know her in the two years that I lived in White Oak, from 2018-2020. I loved hearing her wax poetic about her fig trees (a gift from an Iranian friend) and the "smoothies" that she would fertilize them with. When I learned that she took the bus over an hour to Whole Foods to pick up groceries, I offered her rides home at the end of my shift (I worked in the cheese department). We used to talk on our 15 minute ride home about all kinds of wild things and I mostly just listened. We caught her at a time in her life that she was quite grumpy and when she got too spun up I would put my hand on hers and say, "It's all going to be ok, Judith." She had a very good, kind heart in a world that she saw that was often cruel and unjust. I had no idea about the humanitarian work that she had done, but it makes sense because I know how generous of spirit she could be. Her memory is a blessing.
July 23, 2023

Sunshine

I met Judith around this time last year when I was moving. As her neighbor directly across from her, we got to know each other very quickly. Lucky for her, I worked for a patient advocacy group and helped her with many things. I was glad to help her.