Judith Peabody

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Judith Anne Peabody (née Walker, formerly Dunnington; May 6, 1930 – July 25, 2010) was an American

AIDS
.

Biography

Judith Anne Walker was born on May 6, 1930, in Richmond, Virginia.[1] After her parents were divorced, her mother, Elizabeth Taylor Walker, married attorney Walter Grey Dunnington at a January 1937 ceremony conducted in the bride's apartment at the Carlyle Hotel, where the couple would continue to live.[2] She attended Miss Hewitt's Classes in Manhattan and the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Connecticut and was introduced to society in September 1947 at the Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, New York.[3] She was a member of the Colony Club and the New York Junior League.[3] She met her future husband at a dinner party and they were engaged a week later. After her future husband picked her up for a date at a youth center for juvenile delinquents where she had been working, she pleaded with him not to tell her mother where she had been, saying "she thinks I'm having French lessons".[1]

After two years at

St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Manhattan in a ceremony officiated by the groom's father, Malcolm Endicott Peabody, a Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York.[3]

A notable socialite in Manhattan who was frequently mentioned in the press, she was known for wearing clothing designed for her by

New York Shakespeare Festival and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and was a patron of the American Ballet Theatre. After reading an article about the legal troubles faced by comedian Lenny Bruce in the 1960s, she sent him a contribution towards the costs of his legal defense and assisted him with research.[1]

She earned a certificate in psychology from the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health and established Reality House together with her husband, as an organization in Harlem dedicated to assisting heroin addicts who were trying to overcome their addiction.[1] Three mornings each week she led groups of heroin users who were trying to deal with the personal issues that led to their addiction. The organization operated from a network of storefronts and established programs at two maximum security prisons, reaching out to over 250 participants. As of 1971, 50 former addicts who had undergone the intensive 18-month program of counseling and work therapy had completed the program and none of them returned to using drugs.[4]

She also worked with the Renegades Housing Movement, which had started as a youth gang and was attempting to focus its efforts on social activism in

New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.[6]

Peabody died at age 80 on July 25, 2010, at her apartment on Fifth Avenue, due to complications of a series of strokes that she had suffered in previous years. She was survived by her husband and a daughter.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Weber, Bruce. "Judith Peabody, Socialite and Volunteer, Dies at 80", The New York Times, July 27, 2010. Accessed July 27, 2010.
  2. ^ Staff. "MRS. WALKER BRIDE OF W. G. DUNNINGTON; Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Church Performs Ceremony in Her Hotel Apartment.", The New York Times, January 15, 1937. Accessed July 27, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Staff. "Judith Dunnington Is Wed to S.P. Peabody; His Father Officiates in St. Bartholomew's; Couple Married Here Yesterday", The New York Times, April 1, 1951. Accessed March 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Thomas, Robert McG., Jr. "From Social Whirl to Aiding Addicts", The New York Times, March 3, 1971. Accessed July 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Revson, James A. "REACHING OUT Fifth Avenue's `AIDS Lady' Socialite Judith Peabody brings her name and a tireless effort to the fight against the deadly disease", Newsday, March 9, 1987. Accessed July 27, 2010.
  6. ^ Brozan, Nadine. "A Compassionate Force In The AIDS Battle", The New York Times, April 13, 1987. Accessed July 27, 2010.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judith_Peabody&oldid=1142928900"