Judith Josa Duckworth
{{Short description|British government official (1933–2016)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name = Judith Josa Duckworth
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
|office1 = High Sheriff of Lancashire
|term_start1 = 1994
|term_end1 = 1995
|predecessor1 = Robert Rainey Craik
|successor1 = Ralph William Goodall
|monarch1 = Elizabeth II
|office = Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire
|term_start = 2005
|term_end = 2008
|monarch = Elizabeth II
|birth_name = Judith Josa Verdon
|birth_date = 1933
|birth_place = Liverpool, England
|death_date = {{death year and age|2016|1933}}
|death_place = Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, England
|nationality = British
|party =
|spouse = Peter Duckworth
|children = 3
|relatives =
|occupation = magistrate, philanthropist
|alma_mater =
|awards =
|footnotes =
}}
Judith Josa Duckworth {{post-nominals|country=GBR|JP}} {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DL}}, also known as Judy Duckworth, (née Verdon; 1933 – 2016) was a British government officer and philanthropist. In 1994, she became the first woman to serve as High Sheriff of Lancashire, having been appointed by Elizabeth II. In 2005, she became the first woman to serve as Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, having been appointed by Charles Kay-Shuttleworth, 5th Baron Shuttleworth. Duckworth also served as president of the Lune Valley chapter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and as Chairman of the Garstang chapter of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Early life
Duckworth was born Judith Josa Verdon in Liverpool in 1933 to Frank and Beatrice Verdon.{{Cite news|url=https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/first-female-high-sheriff-lancashire-dies-aged-83-656843|title=First female High Sheriff of Lancashire dies, aged 83 | Lancaster Guardian|newspaper=Lancaster Guardian |accessdate=Jan 26, 2023}}
Public life
In 1973, she was appointed as a magistrate at Garstang, Fleetwood, and Lancaster, serving in that capacity for thirty years.
In 1994, she was appointed by Elizabeth II, as Duke of Lancaster, to serve as High Sheriff of Lancashire.{{London Gazette|issue=53623|page=4527|date=24 March 1994}} Upon her appointment, she became the first woman to serve in this office. She was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant by Lord Lieutenant Charles Kay-Shuttleworth, 5th Baron Shuttleworth and, in 2005, was appointed as Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, serving in this capacity for three years.{{cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2006-02-13f.50135.h |title=Deputy Lieutenants (Lancashire): 13 Feb 2006: Hansard Written Answers |publisher=TheyWorkForYou|accessdate=26 January 2023}} In 2006, Duckworth represented Lancashire at the Queen's 80th birthday service at St Paul's Cathedral in London. She also hosted royal visits to the county by the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earl of Wessex.{{cite web|url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/1228990.caring-side-royal-visit/ |title=Caring side of Royal visit |publisher=Lancashire Telegraph|accessdate=26 January 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/archive/200509|title=September 2005|website=The Royal Family|accessdate=26 January 2023}}
In August 2007, Duckworth attended the Pride of Lancashire Awards Evening, where she presented an award, along with Chief Constable Steve Finnegan and High Sheriff Ruth Winterbottom, to Lancashire police constables Kazim Garda and Michael Woods for rescuing Roberta Clarke from a fire.{{Cite web|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/fire-blast-heroes-honoured-996931|title=Fire blast heroes honoured|date=14 August 2007|work=Manchester Evening News|access-date=26 January 2023}}
Duckworth also served as president of the Lune Valley chapter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and as Chairman of the Garstang chapter of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Personal life and death
File:House at Bleasdale Towers - geograph.org.uk - 1180657.jpg where Duckworth and her family lived.]]
In 1959, she married Peter Duckworth, with whom she had three children. She and her husband lived in Arkholme, Bleasdale, and Sedbergh before retiring to Kirkby Lonsdale.{{cite web|url=https://www.russell-armer.co.uk/casestudies/i-dont-think-i-can-find-fault-in-anything-they-have-done/ |title="I donБ─≥t think I can find fault in anything they have done" | RA |publisher=Russell-armer.co.uk |date=2016-05-16 |accessdate=2023-01-26}}
Duckworth died in 2016. Lord Shuttleworth, the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, made a statement after her death, saying, "Through all the grand events and people, Judy never forgot the human side of it all, her interest in others and the importance of her family." A Catholic funeral was held on 13 December 2016 at St Peter's Church, Stonyhurst.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/14924110.Judith_Josa_Duckworth/ |title=Judith Josa Duckworth |publisher=The Westmorland Gazette |date= |accessdate=2023-01-26}}
References
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Category:Deputy lieutenants of Lancashire
Category:English justices of the peace
Category:English Roman Catholics
Category:English women philanthropists
Category:High sheriffs of Lancashire
Category:Politicians from Liverpool