MONTPELIER – Judita “Judi” Zilius Clow passed away on May 8. Although Judi was born on April 26, 1936, in Kaunas, Lithuania, her official paperwork shows April 28, 1936 as her birthdate, because her grandmother gave the wrong date to the priest in Lithuania.
Judi lived in Lithuania with her family in Kaunas, Vilnius and Tytuvênai until she moved to Germany during WWII with her mother, aunt, and brother. After the war, the family lived in Germany’s displaced person camps until they were able to move to the US, where they settled in Brooklyn, N.Y. Judi lived in New York until she married her husband, Harvey Kennedy “Ken” Clow, and then moved to North Carolina. Judi and Ken later moved to St. Johnsbury, and then to Craftsbury.
Although Judi loved to travel in Europe, her greatest passions were opera and classical music and her painting. Judi studied portraiture at the art school of the Brooklyn Museum of Art and at the Art Students’ League in New York City. She also studied fashion illustration at the Parson’s School of Design in NYC. Judi’s work ranged from fashion illustrations to portraits to landscapes and abstract paintings, and her work has been shown at solo and group exhibits in New York, North Carolina and Vermont.
In her professional life, Judi worked as an administrative assistant, and in later years, as a legal administrative assistant, and in her spare time, in addition to her artwork, she enjoyed researching and experimenting with natural health remedies, and sending care packages to families in Lithuania.
Judi was predeceased by her husband, Harvey Kennedy “Ken” Clow; and her mother, Ona Zilius; and her father, Danielius Žilėvicius. Judi will be dearly missed by her family in Vermont, including Tadas “Ted” Zilius and his wife Jane Campbell, her stepson Christopher Gordon Clow and his wife Anne Corbin Clow, her niece Raina Lisa Stone, and her nephew Zachary Paul Zilius, as well as her niece Elise Campbell Zilius of Boston and Genia Rudnik of Tel Aviv, Israel.
As per Judi’s request, there will be no memorial service. Donations in Judi’s memory may be made to the Gary Residence, where Judi was kindly taken care of for several months before her passing.
