Judith "Judy" Perona

Judith “Judy” Perona, age 70, passed away Sunday, May 1, 2016 at Froedtert Memorial Hospital in Milwaukee from complications from kidney cancer.

Judy was born in Racine, July 16, 1945 to the late Michael Domanik and Caroline Domanik Gordon. On December 20, 1969 she was united in marriage to Gerald “Jerry” Perona at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Judy attended Sacred Heart Elementary School and St. Catherine’s High School. She received a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Dominican College in Racine and a Master’s degree from Louis University in Illinois. During the course of her career she taught first, second, and third grades at Winslow and at North Park Elementary schools.

Judy was known for her warm and outgoing personality, her sense of humor, and her beautiful laugh and smile which she often enhanced with various shades of red lipstick. She was not only a leader in her field, she also served as president of the Catholic Junior League of Racine, a member of the Sacred Heart Parish Council, the Racine Retired Educators Association and the Vittoria Colonna Lodge.

Besides her family, Judy loved entertaining and sports. Even after her illness was diagnosed, Judy continued to host many of the major holiday dinners. Parties at her home were held often, from Easter egg dying on Good Friday for 20 adults and children, Halloween pumpkin carving and treasure hunt, summer cookouts, and wedding and birthday showers, just to name of few. From a young age, Judy was involved in a variety of sports: basketball, volleyball, softball and golf. But her greatest passion was tennis. She won many trophies in both singles and doubles tennis. To celebrate her victories, she and her husband attended each of the four major tennis opens: in New York, Wimbledon, Paris, and Melbourne, Australia.

Judy and Jerry loved to travel and made several trips to Europe. Of course Italy was Judy’s favorite and she traveled from the Italian Alps in the north to Sicily in the south. The highlights of their trips were her meeting with St. John Paul II in Rome, and visiting the mother’s birthplace in Calabria.

Judy was preceded in death by her parents and by a sister-in-law Judy Ann Maegaard. In addition to her husband, Judy is survived by her son Greg (Angela), her grandson Marco, her brother Michael (Jean) Domanik, brother Joseph (Sandy) Domanik, and sister-in-law Diane Perona, as well as nephews, nieces, and cousins. She was especially blessed by many close and dear friends too numerous to name who were with her and her family throughout the five year course of her cancer. To them, the family gives their most heartfelt thank you. Thank you also to the medical staff at Froedtert Hospital for the wonderful care and concern.

Funeral visitation will be held Wednesday, May 4, 2016 from ¬¬¬4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the funeral home (A Vittoria Colona service will be held at 6:00 p.m.) and visitation Thursday at the church from 9:45 A.M. until 10:15 A.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 2201 Northwestern Avenue, Racine, WI, Thursday at 10:30 A.M. with the Rev. Ricardo Martin presiding. A private burial service will be held at St. George Cemetery in Kenosha. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Judy’s name to the Kidney Cancer Association, Box 803338 #38269, Chicago, Illinois 60680-3338, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, or a charity of your choice.