JUDITH

WA - Judith (Kema) Larsen (nee Rankin) crossed the threshold to the Great Beyond on August 11, 2025. Born in Butte, MT on December 5th, 1939, she was a Montana girl who loved her horse, Dagger. She moved with her family to Bainbridge Island, WA and at age 17 published her first poem. A year later she was accepted to the University of Washington where she studied poetry under Theodore Roethke and other major poets, and was quickly embraced by its creative community. Kema met her husband Paul in Yellowstone Park during the 1959 earthquake. Together, they had daughters Astrid in Anchorage and Heidi in Montreal. After a master's degree in Elizabethan literature at Columbia, she procured a law degree from Georgetown University. She practiced as a public defender in the juvenile courts in Washington DC and worked for the Environmental Protection Agency. She also contracted with the American Bar Association, advising on laws, educating judges, and writing the book, Foster Care Law: A Primer. Kema was the self-imposed anonymous editor of over 100 of her husband's journal articles on Air and Space Law and was the source of their engaging titles. After retiring, she moved back to Bainbridge Island to study philosophy, quantum physics, and esotericism. Kema was brilliant, enigmatic, and will be missed, especially by her Thursday group, Quaker friends and her beloved Bookies. 

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A month before she passed away, Kema, Jason and I took the ferry to Seattle and visited her favorite bookstore and gelato shop. Our arms heavy with books and our bellies full of chocolate gelato, we took the ferry home, singing aloud all the songs we knew.  Some people on the ferry looked at us, because we were making so much noise. But I think they were happy for us, and wanted to sing along. What is your memory?

With love,

Heidi