Judith Graves Colvocoresses

Judith Graves Colvocoresses, 70, passed away very peacefully with her husband Jim at her side in the nursing facility at Westminster Palms in St. Petersburg on November 21, 2023. Judy was born on Christmas Day 1952 in Fernandina Beach, FL, the first child of Mack and Mildred Graves. Mack was the high school principal in Fernandina Beach, and soon moved the family to Greenville, and later Brooksville, where he served as high school principal as well. In 1958, they moved permanently to St. Petersburg, where Mack taught English at St. Petersburg Jr. College, now St. Petersburg College, for the next 20 years. Judy graduated from Seminole High School in 1970. She was the editor of the school newspaper, a presage to her future career. After high school, she earned an Associate of Arts degree at St. Petersburg Jr. College and then a BA in English from the University of South Florida in 1976. In 1977 she took a position as an Editorial Assistant with the Florida Marine Research Institute (now Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) and quickly rose to the position of Copy Editor. In 1980 she took a hiatus from the job to do some graduate work at USF and later to raise her beloved son Morgan (shared with her former husband Mark Leiby) through his preschool years. In 1988, Judy returned to her position as the Scientific Copy Editor at FMRI, a job she truly loved and would hold for the next 28 years. In addition to editing all of the Institutes’ manuscripts for publication in scientific journals and other types of published works, she was very proactive in aiding the scientists to hone their writing abilities, compiling a Grammar Guide specific to scientific writing and periodically issuing ‘Grammar-Grams’ which addressed recurring issues in scientific writing. She developed a wide-spread reputation for excellence at her job, as evidenced by several other scientific institutions and one major scientific journal actively trying to recruit her skills in the later stages of her career. Throughout her life, Judy was known for her bright smile, shining eyes and friendly, kind and gentle demeanor, traits which she carried even through a very difficult illness during her later years. She also was a bundle of energy, constantly running, walking and attending every fitness class she could find time for (earning the nickname ‘Energizer Bunny’ from her gym mates). Her son Morgan sadly predeceased her, while she is survived by her husband, her siblings Scott Graves (Anita), Ellen Marsh (Bill), and Jeffrey Graves (Karen Klukow); and her nieces and nephews Adam Graves, Jessica Warder (Mike), Katie Marsh, and Cameron and Devon Graves. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Mildred P. Graves Early Childhood Education Scholarship Fund, c/o the College of Education at the University of Tennessee, A-304 Bailey Education Complex, 1122 Volunteer Blvd., Knoxville, TN 37996, or to the charity of your choice. The family would like to extend a special thanks to the caring staff of the Skilled Nursing Facility of Westminster Palms, who provided her with a warm and comfortable environment during her final two years, and where she always felt safe and surrounded by friends. No funeral service or immediate memorial is planned, a remembrance gathering is under consideration for some time next year.

Judith Graves Colvocoresses

December 25, 1952 - November 21, 2023