Judith Ann Welch Kitchen (née Cotter), age 84, died peacefully at home in Bandana, North Carolina, on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

She was born on March 7, 1938, in Austin, Minnesota. She is preceded in death by her parents; Leonard and Grace Cotter; her husband, Billy Welch; her husband, James Kitchen, and her sister, Sandra Nelson.

Judy helped out with the workload on her parents’ farm, was an active member in 4-H, and attended a one-room schoolhouse for her first eight years. She graduated from Austin High School and soon after married Bill in 1957. She raised a family and worked for IBM for over twenty-eight years, most of which while living in Boca Raton, Florida. When she retired, she and Bill moved to Bandana, North Carolina. She traveled the world throughout, loved her grandchildren, and was a cherished Meals on Wheels volunteer for over twenty-five years.

Judy is survived by three children: Laura Burke and husband, Kevin of Jacksonville, Florida; Mark Welch and wife, Debra of Raleigh, North Carolina; and Jill Griffin and husband, Tim of Wilmington, North Carolina; her brother; Frederick Cotter and wife, Linda of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and her sister; Karen Johnsrud and husband, Charles of Clark’s Grove, Minnesota, and three step-children: Ann Guillette of Alexandria, Virginia; Kris Miles and husband, Dave of West Lake Village, California; and James Kitchen, II and wife, Susan of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is also survived by ten grandchildren: Karli, Sarah, Brady, David, Matthew, Jackson, Keenan, Karsen, Matthew and Dylan.

The family would like to thank Hospice and Home Care of the Blue Ridge and the Bandana community for their love and support. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either the Mitchell Senior Center at 152 Ledger School Rd., Bakersville, NC 28705 or the Bandana Community Center c/o Brenda Silver at 262 Sam Gouge Rd., Bakersville, NC 28705.

Words of comfort may be e-mailed to the family by going to our website; www.webbfh.com, selecting Judith Kitchen’s name and then you may sign her guestbook. Webb Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements for Mrs. Kitchen and is honored to be serving the Kitchen family. Mrs. Kitchen’s obituary has also been posted on Facebook for viewing.