February 24, 1936 – July 8, 2025

Sylvia Judith Strong (Judith), age 89, passed away peacefully on July 8, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. Judith was born on February 24, 1936 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Samuel and Jeanne Toiv. She lived in Poughkeepsie, New York for many years, raising her two children with her first husband, Harry Chafetz. In 1992, Judith married the late Robert (Bob) Strong, relocating to Newcastle, Washington. Bob was the love of Judith’s life, and together they shared a remarkable relationship.

Judith was the loving mother of Lynne Chafetz (Brad Hampton) and the late Robert Chafetz, adored grandmother of Eve and Jesse Hampton, and Danielle (Michael Kizner), Joseph and Lily Chafetz, and loving great-grandmother of Ari and Levi Pratt and Jonah and Ezra Kizner.

Judith was vibrant, compassionate, witty and generous. She loved being a mother and took a keen interest in everyone she met, engaging friends and strangers who soon became friends in meaningful conversations. Judith’s values were reflected in her many endeavors: starting a Head Start program in Poughkeepsie, teaching Sunday school at Temple Beth-El, directing a senior meal site for the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, volunteering as a long-term care ombudsman, taping books for the blind and reading bedtime stories at an orphanage. She proudly took her children to civil rights and peace marches.

She enjoyed driving her red sports cars, traveling with Bob in their motor home and spending time at their Ocean Shores vacation home. She delighted in beauty and filled her home with art. The family suggests remembrances to Habitat for Humanity or Feeding America. A private graveside service will be held at Hillside Cemetery, Issaquah, followed by Shiva at Lynne and Brad’s home. Friends are invited to sign the family’s online guestbook at www.Flintofts.com