Judith Royer

ROYER, Judith Anne (Vivian) died at home surrounded by her family in Trotwood, Ohio from dementia on December 21, 2020 at the age of 70. She was born February 9th, 1950 at Reid Hospital in Richmond, Indiana to Winona (Prichard) Vivian and Robert Vivian. After an early career as a registered nurse (graduated 1972) and starting her family of three children with Dr. James Royer (married 1972-1988), she went to medical school (graduated 1989) and launched a second career as an Emergency Medicine physician. Most of those years were spent at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, including a stint as the director of the ER. Her passion for emergency care extended to fire and rescue squads; she was a certified EMT and volunteered as the Physician Medical Director for many squads in the Dayton area (including Brookville, Clayton, Englewood, Lewisburg, New Lebanon, Phillipsburg, Trotwood, Union, and West Alexandria). Judy had so much loving, creative energy. She was forever starting crafts that she might or might not finish, collecting and loving animals (many of them rescued), reading a good book in front of the woodstove, and looking for ways to make the world around her a little more friendly and warm. She enjoyed keeping chickens throughout her life; she relished delivering eggs (and making new friends along the way) all around Dayton. While Judy reveled in supporting myriad causes, including education in Native North American communities, women’s issues, and nature conservation, much of her energy in the last 16 years was spent starting and growing the non-profit organization BEAMs in Guatemala. This group of volunteers buys beadwork from Mayan artisans in the Lake Atitlán region of Guatemala, sells them in the US, and returns all the profits to the Mayan community in the form of medical and school supplies. She is mourned by a large and loving Guatemalan community of artists, educators, and medical providers. The work of BEAMs is being continued by her sister Cathy. Judy leaves behind her mother Win, sister Catherine Druley, children Christopher Royer, Daniel Royer-Miller, and Anne Royer, children-in-law Margo Royer-Miller and Matthias Schultz, and four beloved grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Judith Royer Fund at the Dayton Foundation (Fund #7909), which will support a few of her favorite charities (including Aullwood Audubon Center, Artemis Center, The Nature Conservancy, Heifer International, and the American Indian College Fund) in perpetuity. Donations can be made through the Dayton Foundation website, or checks filled out to the Dayton Foundation with Fund #7909 in the memo section can be mailed to 1401 S. Main St, Dayton OH 45409. There will be a remote visitation on Saturday, January 2nd from 4-7pm and a remote memorial on Sunday, January 3rd at 3pm, both on Zoom. Please contact a family member for a link. The family will also hold a large and boisterous memorial to share stories, hugs, and cookies (the last on Judy’s particular request) whenever it is safe to gather again. www.RogersFuneralHomes.com