Judith Ann Petersen Homer was born on December 6, 1944 to Bernice and Kenneth Petersen in New York.  She died on December 17, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona in her home after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Judy devoted her whole life to helping others.  After receiving her BA in Chemistry from Ohio State University, she moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where she worked as a chemist.  She and her husband Vince traveled extensively and made many friends. During this time, Judy discovered that she spent a lot of time listening to people and trying to help them.  As a result, she returned to the states and entered a graduate program at the University of Oklahoma in Counseling Psychology.  After completing her PhD in Psychology, she began work at Arizona State University working with students in the Counseling Center on campus. She conducted individual and group therapy and helped many students during this time.   She left the University to work in community mental health as the Clinical Director for the Center Against Sexual Abuse (CASA) in Phoenix.  She managed the Crisis Line and the Outpatient Clinic for survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse.  Her commitment to helping survivors was evident in the work that she did for so many years.   She was passionate about educating others about sexual abuse/assault. Judy conducted many workshops and training sessions to help both clients and professionals learn about and address the issues surrounding sexual trauma.  During this time, Judy was an advocate and a mentor for young professionals.  She was always committed to teaching and training counselors.  While at CASA, Judy supervised many masters and doctoral students. After nearly 8 years at CASA, Judy returned to Arizona State University as a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Counselor Training Center. This seemed to be the place where her true gifts were used. Judy worked closely with graduate students, preparing them to work with clients with a variety of issues. She loved teaching and she was extraordinarily skilled at teaching the art of therapy.

Judy will always be remembered as a fighter and one who loved to “play the odds.” She loved to play poker and the slots at Fort McDowell Casino. But this spirit of beating the odds prevailed in many other parts of her life.

Judy is survived by her sister Jerene Petersen of Denver, CO. and her brother Kenneth Petersen of Oregon.  No memorial services are planned.