William Hayes “Bill” Judy, III, age 71, of Fort Pierce, Florida passed away on March 13, 2026, after an extended illness. Bill was born September 4, 1954 in Winchester, VA. He was the son of the late William H. Judy, Jr., and Ruth E. (Kessel) Judy of Peru, West Virginia. Bill is survived by his wife, Cheryl Edgecomb Judy; his brothers, J. David Judy, III (Debbie) and George K. Judy (Cathy); his nephews, John David Judy, IV (Rachel), G. Kevin Judy, II; and great-nephews, Reed W. Judy and Calvin H. Judy. In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his nephew, Aaron M. Judy.
Bill graduated from Moorefield High School in 1972 and was active in 4-H and a 4-H All Star. He graduated from West Virginia University College of Agriculture in 1976, with a B.S. in Agricultural Resource Management, where he was an active member and President of the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, a social and professional national fraternity. Bill graduated from West Virginia University College of Law in 1982 with a Juris Doctor degree, where he was a member of Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. Bill was a member of the WV Farm Bureau, Moorefield Lodge #29 A.F. & A.M., a 32° Scottish Rite Mason and the Ali Ghan Shrine.
In addition to his legal practice, Bill had a great interest in reading, history, fishing, cooking and gardening. He enjoyed entertaining family and friends and took particular delight in his knowledge of history and mastery of trivia from his extensive reading.
Bill’s historical interest extended back to colonial times with family history in the South Branch River Valley where the Judy Family has resided, farmed, and had professional endeavors since immigrating from Switzerland in the 1740’s to North Mill Creek, south of Petersburg.
Bill led a family research project through historical documents in Hardy, Hampshire, Grant and Pendleton Counties of West Virginia and Augusta County, Virginia, to learn about the Judy Family genealogy and history.
Bill was generous and helpful to the community and his friends during his lifetime. He requested that he be cremated, and some of his ashes be scattered off the coast of Costa Rica, where he loved to deep-sea fish, and the remainder be buried in the family cemetery at Peru.
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