Judy Eggart
1952-2021
At a Pen Women Pensacola Branch meeting several years ago, in a light-filled restaurant at Seville Square, a tall, robust, red-headed woman took center stage, and with a smile as wide as the Mississippi River began an animated presentation on her unique and wondrous talent of sculpting human likenesses out of foam block — with an electric knife! We were entranced. This was our dear member Judy Eggart, who died on November 19, 2021.
From building her costume business Off the Wall, to carving likenesses of celebrities such as Elvis and Einstein, to assembling giant driftwood creations, Judy enjoyed a life of creativity as well as one of immense devotion to family. According to her children, Judy’s motto was “Whatever it takes!” and she would “move mountains if her children asked.”
She grew up in Pensacola and, with a lifelong love of nature and the coast instilled by her beloved parents, she enjoyed all coastal activities like swimming, boating, crabbing, and fishing. Judy had three children and three grandchildren.
Judy was also a writer — a history buff and humorist of “outrageous historical satires” about events like the Boston Tea Party and Washington Crossing the Delaware. At one point, she embarked on a national tour as an inspirational speaker.
In our branch’s book “Nobis,” Judy wrote that when the Boston Celtics wanted giant heads of all the starting lineup, “I rushed home, sat down with my electric knife, a huge block of foam, and a picture of Larry Bird. I sculpted without stopping. There was foam flying all over like a snowstorm!”
That was Judy — full of life and motion. We will so miss her warm, vibrant personality. Each time we were around her, she seemed the very center of color and creativity.
—Submitted by Karen Morris
Carol David
Carol David, artist from the Modesto Branch, died March 3, 2022, just nine days before her 85th birthday.
She graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor’s degree in commercial art, as well as teaching credentials for both general and secondary levels. She taught in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early years of her marriage and began painting again after moving to Modesto, California and raising her children.
David was a prolific and award-winning pastel artist whose works are in homes throughout the country. She joined the Modesto Branch in 2005, and served as branch president in 2012-2014, as well as serving as chairperson for the historian committee for many years.
Her gentle spirit, kind and gracious personality, and strong faith touched all who knew her.
Below: Paintings by Carol David
Halide Smith
December 29, 1933 – January 16, 2022
Halide Smith, a proud and longtime music and art member of the Sarasota Branch of the National League of American Pen Women, Inc., died just a few weeks after her 88th birthday.
Though she Smith moved to Missouri several years ago, her heart remained with the Sarasota Pen Women, and she kept her membership active yearly.
Ms. Smith was not only immensely talented but fun, and had many Pen Women friends who knew and loved her no matter where she called home. She’ll remain in our hearts always.
Halide was a composer and artist, composing music for a variety of musical instruments, from contemporary to classic. She painted in oil, watercolor, and acrylic.
As a child of Kazan Turks, Ms. Smith was born and raised in Korea and moved to Turkey at a young age. While in Korea, she studied piano with a German teacher. She was world-traveled and influenced by many cultures, which was reflected in her unique and innovative musical compositions.
Her music has been performed in many venues while collectors of her paintings reside worldwide.
Ms. Smith won countless awards for her music and art from NLAPW and other art and music groups. Among her impressive achievements, was the first International Friendship Award by The National Federation of Music Clubs.
—Submitted by Wilma Davidson, Sarasota Branch President