DIED: 17 September 2024
MARITAL STATUS AT TIME OF DEATH: Widowed
PREVIOUS MARRIAGES: Harold Bancroft (deceased)
CHILDREN: Julia Harrington-Jones and Michael Bancroft (deceased)

BIOGRAPHY: Straight-backed and strait-laced with an icy glare that made you quiver, Judith was the steely matriarch of the Harrington-Jones/Bancroft family, as well as the president of the Glendale chapter of the Women’s Institute.

Born into the prestigious Walker family, Judith inherited privilege, influence, and social standing from birth. At eighteen, she married Harold Bancroft, heir to the vast Bancroft fortune, cementing her place among the elite. Despite her wealth and status, her marriage was fraught with Harold’s infidelities – betrayals she often chose to overlook to maintain the image of a perfect family.

Judith’s devotion to her children, Julia and Michael, was absolute. Julia flourished under her guidance, but Michael struggled with mental health and addiction, testing Judith’s patience. Her attempts to steer him toward sobriety ended in tragedy when Michael died in 2007, leaving Judith shattered and wrestling with profound grief.

The final chapter of Judith’s life was marked by turmoil. The long-buried secret of Nick’s true parentage – a secret she had long compelled Julia to protect – finally exploded, tearing her family apart. Abandoned by Julia in the aftermath, Judith spent her final days isolated and alone, and, on 17 September 2024, she suffered a fatal heart attack.