Judy was born on September 10, 1942, to Helen Marie (Semith) and Walter Jarvis Rolen.
Judy was the younger sister of Mary Catherine, who was born on December 23, 1938. At the time of Judy’s birth, her father was 24 years old and her mother was 25. Shortly after Judy was born, her parents were divorced, leaving her mother to raise two young girls as a single parent.
Helen Semith was born on December 11, 1916, to Joseph Frank and Mary Ann (Conway) Semith.
Helen was the youngest sister of Frank Joseph, who was born on March 14, 1893, Joseph Frank, who was born on January 7, 1895, Gertrude, born in April 1898, and George Nicholas, born August 13, 1906.
Walter Rolen was born on April 23, 1918, to Walter Henry and Virginia Blanch (Jarvis) Rolen.
Walter was the middle child, a younger brother of Robert Scott, born on August 10, 1912, and an older brother of Craig Aikers, born on December 28, 1922.
Judy’s maternal grandfather was Joseph Frank Semith, born on June 21, 1865, near Johannesburg, South Africa.
The son of Franz and Henrietta Schmidt, he immigrated from Germany to the United States when he was 22 years old, arriving in New York on December 17, 1887. He made his way to East St. Louis, where he set up shop as a carpenter.
Judy’s maternal grandmother was Mary Ann Conway, born in January 1874, in Caseyville, Illinois.
She came to be known as “Mamie,” born to Catherine Weigand Book, who was 26 years old at the time, and John Thomas Conway, who was 39. Mary and Joseph the carpenter were married on May 23, 1892, when she was 18 years old and he was 27.
Judy’s paternal grandfather was Walter Henry Rolen, born on November 4, 1889, in Washington Depot, Indiana.
By the time he was 17 years old, Walter Henry had moved from Indianapolis to East St. Louis. There he would meet and eventually marry Virginia Blanch Jarvis.
Judy’s paternal grandmother was Virginia Blanch Jarvis, born on March 6, 1892, in Gasconade County, Missouri.
Virginia’s mother, Malinda Rogers, died in 1895, when Virginia was just 3 years old. Her father married a widow, Cynthia Ann Crider, in 1901.
Just Judy 