Judiann West DeMartino (1945 – 2025)

Judiann West DeMartino, 80, of Montague saw her last sunset over White Lake on Oct. 3, 2025. Her death left a void in the many lives she touched with humor and love, especially among those special education students she taught.

Judi was born in Muskegon, Sept. 5, 1945 to Robert Read West and Mary Agnes West, nee McCann.

She never gave up on her students, no matter how broad their disabilities were. She never gave up on herself, either, even in the face of many hardships. She was an inspiration to all.

Judi graduated from Montague High School in 1963 and was a true Wildcat in more ways than one.

Local lore says that she and a few friends on a fall night 64 years ago rolled pumpkins, (probably stolen) down the Dowling Street hill, creating a mess below. The rest, as everyone knows, is history.

A lesser claim to fame was her excellence in teaching the most vulnerable among us.

In her mid-30s, Judi found herself the sole support of her two children, one of whom was severely handicapped and required around-the-clock care.

Life was tough, and one night while working in a restaurant, she had an epiphany. Knowing that things couldn't get worse, she decided to reinvent herself. She enrolled at Muskegon Community College and earned her associates degree in 1984.

She then sold nearly all her possessions and moved to Mt. Pleasant with her children, enrolled in Central Michigan University, slept on a couch for three years, studied until the wee hours of the morning, worked painting apartments for the housing department and cared early morning and mid-evening for a handicapped woman, jobs she could take her children to. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1987. She was 41.

After teaching a couple of years in Stanton, she returned to Montague, bought her parents' house and cared for them throughout the rest of their lives.

She was proof that with hard work, all things are possible

Her home was a beacon for relatives and friends. All roads led to Judi's.

She was crazy, fun and caring, a trait that came full circle in her last year as friends and family members cared for as her health failed.

Judi was preceded in death by her daughter and partner in misdeeds, Julie and her sister, Janet Rolewicz. Surviving are her son, Rob, and brother Robert Patrick West and his wife Theresa.

Family services have been held.

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, White Lake Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

www.beaconfh.com