The fall of 1985 was a period of intense activity for Novell. The Advanced NetWare/86 products began to ship, a special event was held to introduce SFT NetWare (see above), and the usual frenzy accompanied the end of the quarter and the preparations for Comdex.
Judith’s Corporate Communications department was generating an enormous quantity of work during this time. Besides the planning for the SFT event and Comdex, Judith’s people were working on a corporate video, The Realities of Life; getting out weekly LINK mailings; and publishing LAN Times, three issues of which were published in 1985. By the end of the year, LAN Times was a 40-page tabloid with a press run of 30,000. Fifty free copies were sent to each distributor and four to each reseller, in addition to a small subscriber list and trade show distribution.
Judith supervised the production of this work in the shadow of a personal tragedy. In June 1985, she was relaxing at her Orem condominium with two of her sons. Craig dropped by to visit, riding a minibike. Judith’s youngest son borrowed the bike to take a spin around the block. He was hit by a car and killed.
She buried her son in a new cemetery high on the mountainside above Provo. The solitary grave is marked by a headstone and a small stone bench, and the spot affords a serenely beautiful view of Utah Lake and the valley below.
Judith’s friends and colleagues say her son’s death was a staggering blow; her grief visibly affected her for over a year. Always a hard worker who put in long hours, Judith began to spend even more time at the office. It was not unusual to find her working close to midnight and even later.