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Saving animals was her calling

About 150 people gathered to remember a wildlife worker whose life was cut short in a traffic accident.

By LOGAN NEILL
Published January 16, 2006

	[Times photo: Will Vragovic]
	Jim Jablon, center left, spreads Judy Schwartz's ashes over Jenkin's Creek at Linda Pedersen Park while Schwartz's husband, Irv, center right, holds the urn. Irv's sister, Florence Schwartz, left, and Jim's wife, Terri Jablon, look on. No matter how sick an animal was, Jim Jablon said, "you knew that when it was in Judy's hands there was always hope."

HERNANDO BEACH - It was fitting that as Judy Schwartz's friends and family gathered to say their final goodbyes, a small flock of gulls darted low overhead. The sight brought a smile to many of the forlorn faces and the notion that perhaps someone was smiling down upon them.

About 150 people gathered Sunday afternoon at Linda Pedersen Park to honor Schwartz, who died Jan. 4 at 60 from injuries suffered in a traffic accident and was known for her work in rehabilitating injured wildlife in Hernando County.

"She was such an amazing person," her friend and fellow wildlife rehabilitator Jim Jablon told the assembled throng. "No matter how sick or badly injured an animal was, you knew that when it was in Judy's hands there was always hope."

Jablon, who organized the memorial, said that his friend probably wouldn't have approved of the fuss being made over her.

"She didn't do what she did to gain attention," Jablon said. "Helping wildlife was just something she was driven to do. It was her mission in life."

Schwartz lived most of her life in Pinellas County, where she and her husband, Irv, owned and operated several Burger King restaurants. Twelve years ago, the couple moved to a rural area off Powell Road, where Judy set up an animal rehabilitation clinic.

Penny Boehme, a friend of Schwartz's and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator from St. Petersburg, said Schwartz was an expert at patching up tortoises, hawks and owls that had been hit by cars. At any given time, she had upward of 50 animals in her care. Once healed, the animals were returned to the wild.

"She treated them as if they were her kids," Boehme said. "She would nurture them with love, but she respected that once they were better they needed to find their own way back into the world."

At the time of her death, Schwartz had several animals that were ready for release. As the memorial service ended, volunteers brought out a Cooper's hawk and a Red-Shouldered hawk and set them free.

"Seeing those birds made it a little easier for me to get through this day," Jablon said. "I know that wherever those birds go, they'll be taking Judy's comfort and care with them."

[Last modified January 16, 2006, 00:41:10]