Dear Members and Friends of Saint Thomas Church,
It is with sadness that I write to share with you the news of the death of Judith Hancock, former Associate Organist of Saint Thomas Church, and wife of Organist and Master of Choristers Gerre Hancock.
During her long life, Judy was considered one of America’s finest concert organists and faithfully served alongside her husband, Gerre, at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. She also held positions at St. James’ Church, Madison Avenue; St. James the Less, Scarsdale New York; Church of the Redeemer Cincinnati; and churches in Bronxville and Durham, NC.
A graduate of Syracuse University, Dr. Hancock studied organ with the legendary teacher Arthur Poister. From there she went on to Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she earned the Sacred Music Master’s degree, and from which she received the Unitas Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2004, Judy was awarded Doctor of Sacred Music by St. Dunstan’s College of Sacred Music, Providence, Rhode Island the same time that she and Gerre were appointed to the faculty of The Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music of the University of Texas at Austin, where they both continued to encourage young people in their music-making until Gerre’s death in 2012.
Judy, of course, will be most well-known to Saint Thomas Church parishioners and Choir School Alumni because of her long tenure alongside ‘Uncle Gerre.’ She performed many recitals on the old Arents Organ with an impressive repertoire from the great organists of the French tradition (Tournemire, Vierne and Duruflé and Dupré.) and the German tradition (Bach, Mendelssohn, Hindemith and Reger). Sometimes her recitals featured trumpet, and strings such as viola and cello. One of her most famous recitals featured “Two Organists at One Keyboard” performed with her beloved husband, Gerre.
Judy had a glittering international career as a recitalist, performing in Kings College, Cambridge; Westminster Abbey; St. Paul’s Cathedral, London; and St. John’s College, Cambridge. She travelled with the Choir of Men and Boys on tour, and appeared at the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists numerous times.
In retirement, following the death of Gerre, Judy was a faithful member of our parish, loved attending our senior lunches, our concert series, and her warm and vibrant personality will be missed. The last several years she has fought the onset of Alzheimer’s, resulting in her needing more and more care. Her daughters, Debbie and Lisa, surrounded her with love and devotion until the very end. She is survived by them and her twin brother, Richard, and her younger brother, David.
Her funeral will be held at Saint Thomas Church on Wednesday, October 22, at 11am and her ashes will be interred alongside those of her husband in the Choir of Saint Thomas Church.
O God, we give you thanks for the life of your beloved servant, Judith. Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
The Concert to be held on Thursday, October 16 at 7:30pm will now be dedicated to the memory of Judy and in thanksgiving for her musical legacy. We give thanks for her contribution to the musical life of Saint Thomas and, indeed, to the whole of the United States. You can find out more details about the concert below.
Antonio Vivaldi: Nature and Divinity
In Christ,
Father Carl Turner
