Former islander remembered for service to community
Judith Ann Holly Workman, 78, formerly of Sanibel, passed on May 5 after a battle with cancer.
Described by her family as a devoted mother and grandmother, teacher, community activist and an attorney, she was one of the city’s first employees and served on the Sanibel Planning Commission and the Sanibel City Council. She was also a founder of the Children’s Education Center of the Islands.
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Workman graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a degree in French. She began teaching in Wallingford, Connecticut, before marrying her college sweetheart, Richard Workman. They lived in California, Indiana and Ohio, before moving to the island in 1973.
On Sanibel, Workman worked on the original committee that helped plan the bike paths. She was the second employee hired for the newly incorporated city, where she served as secretary to the mayor and city council. Workman served two terms on the planning commission and was elected to the council in 2000. She was also instrumental in the formation of Community Housing and Resources on Sanibel.
“(She) was a champion for Below Market Rate Housing on the island,” her family said.
In the early 1980s, the single mother of two children decided to go to law school and earned her law degree from Indiana University in 1984. Workman passed the bar in Indiana and Florida and returned to Sanibel. She was hired by Humphrey, Jones and Myers and worked in Fort Myers until she started her own practice. Workman practiced on Sanibel until 2008, when she moved herself and her practice to Fort Myers.
“Judy used her profession to help others, often providing free or greatly discounted legal services to those who otherwise might not be able to afford them,” her family said.
Workman was a 50-year member of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, where she served on the vestry and was parish chancellor. She worked on the church’s Madden Education Fund committee.
“For the past 18 years, Judy’s most treasured role was that of devoted and loving grandmother to her three grandchildren. She had a unique and special relationship with each of them and often commented on how fortunate she was to be a part of their daily lives,” her family said. “She absolutely adored them, and they her.”
Workman also loved her son’s art and music, her daughter’s writing, native plants especially Geiger trees, classical music, reading, her “Zoom Girls” and sitting on her porch looking out at the courtyard.
She was preceded in death by her father, John Weaver Holly; mother, Mary Holmes Holly; sister, Jan Holly; and husband, Richard Workman, in 2019. She is survived by her son, Michael Workman (Beth); daughter, Jennifer Lessinger (Ozzie); sister, Susan Holly (Mark Twombly); grandsons, Sam and Gus Lessinger; granddaughter, Sadie Lessinger; and nephew, James Twombly Holly.
A memorial service was held on June 4 at Peace Lutheran Church in Fort Myers. Donations can be made to the Madden Education Fund at St. Michael’s on Sanibel or to the Moffitt Cancer Center.