Judy Works

Judith “Judy” Works, RN, MN, APRN, age 66, of Iola, Kansas, passed away suddenly on May 15, 2026. She was a nurse, a healer, a tireless advocate for the people in her care, and the center of her family’s world. Her death, from a catastrophic cardiac event believed to have been caused by spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), was as sudden as it was devastating.

Judy was born September 8, 1959, in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Edward C. and Patsy R. Nott, both deceased. Her father was a Navy pilot whose career took the family around the world, from Japan to Hawaii to Iceland. He ended his career at NORAD in Colorado Springs, where Judy put down her first real roots and finished high school. She attended Kansas State University before transferring to the University of Kansas where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master’s Degree in Nursing, both magna cum laude. She later earned a post-graduate Specialist Community Public Health Nursing degree in Cardiff, Wales, on a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship.

On May 28, 1984, she married Frederick J. Works. Together they built a life rooted in family, service, friendship, and adventure, sharing nearly 42 years of marriage. She is survived by Fred; her children Dylan Works and wife Beth, Abby Lawrence and husband Will, and Colby Works and fiancée Ella Bahr; her siblings Deborah Nott and partner Mark Loveall, Jerry Nott and wife Merrie, and Monte Nott and wife Teri; and by many friends, patients, and colleagues whose lives were shaped by knowing her.

For more than 40 years Judy devoted herself to nursing and family medicine, practicing in Iola and Humboldt. She spent more than two decades with The Family Physicians in Iola before operating the Monarch Cement Company Medical Clinic in Humboldt the last 12 years of her career. The Monarch Clinic became the great passion of her later career as she was able to practice the kind of close, personal, hands-on medicine she believed in.

Judy was clear-eyed about what medicine was supposed to be. It was not just about prescriptions and diagnoses; it was about people. Someone once described her as the perfect combination of compassion and hard-ass. Both were accurate, and she would have taken either as a compliment. She had a way of moving people, gently but persistently, toward what she believed was better for them: a healthier choice, a harder walk, a needed appointment, a more honest conversation. She rarely pushed loudly, but she never stopped quietly nudging.

Her work was recognized through numerous professional and community honors, including the Kansas Governor’s Council on Fitness Kansas Health Champion Award, the Thrive Allen County Award for Excellence in Health and Wellness, and the University of Kansas School of Nursing’s “Heart of Healthcare” Award.

She gave generously to her community throughout her life. She was a 38-year member of the Iola Rotary Club serving two terms as president, a Paul Harris Fellow and was among the first women admitted into Rotary. She was a member of Chapter L, P.E.O. for 37 years. She served on the board of directors of the REACH Healthcare Foundation, the Allen County Hospital Board, school site councils, extension boards, and numerous other boards in Allen County and across the state.

For all she accomplished professionally and publicly, Judy’s greatest joy was her family. She was the center of Fred’s world and the heart of their family. She loved hiking adventures with Fred, and together they trekked many of the world’s great long-distance trails, including Everest Base Camp, the Tour du Mont Blanc, the West Highland Way, the Costa Brava, the Kerry Way, two routes of the Camino de Santiago, and three of New Zealand’s Great Walks.

That love of the outdoors was rooted, in part, in her family’s cabin in Colorado, a place that mattered deeply to her and to previous generations of her family. It was there that she taught her children to love hiking trails, mountain air, cold streams, challenging climbs, the satisfaction of reaching a summit, and the simple joy of just being outside together. No one raised their children more intentionally or followed their lives more closely than Judy did her children’s. They were her greatest adventure and her daily joy.

Judy lived with energy, purpose, compassion, and a kind of stubborn generosity that was entirely her own. Her death leaves a profound emptiness in the lives of everyone who loved her.

Friends and family of Judy are invited to come raise a glass in her memory on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Union Works, 919 N. 8th St., Humboldt, Kansas. In Judy’s spirit, leave the black at home. Wear something bright and colorful.

A private funeral Mass will be held at a later date.

Those who may wish to honor Judy’s memory are invited to consider a gift to K-State PROUD or K-State Cats’ Cupboard in honor of a lifelong K-State Wildcat fan — KU degrees notwithstanding.

Condolences for the family may be left at www.feuerbornfuneral.com