Obituary of Judith Lynn Hylands

Judith"Judy"Hylands of Whitehouse Station, NJ, formerly of Holland Township, NJ passed away on September 23, 2023 surrounded by her loving family and partner, Ken Hillman.

Visitation and Services will be at the Kearns Funeral Home in Whitehouse, NJ on Sunday October 1, 2023 at Noon.  A celebration of her life will be at 1PM.

She wil be lovingly remembered by her daughters, Lisa (James) Oostdyk and Laura (Paul) Smith, grandchildren Rin (Kristen), Matt (Jennifer) and Julia (Rylan), sisters Karen Orlando and Theresa Musik, life partner Ken Hillman and numerous nieces and nephews and grandnieces.

Judy was born in Elizabeth NJ to Sam and Julia Serpi (nee Ferrara) in 1946. She lived in Kenilworth until she and her first husband, Vince moved to Milford, NJ and then to a home they built in Holland Township, NJ.  They raised Lisa and Laura in that home and she and Vince started a successful business, Creative Plastics.  Judy loved the business which was not the domain of many women. Her work ethic and love for working with people made for a great team. When Vince got sick in the late 90's, she continued to run the business until it was sold.

Judy and Ken became a couple in 2006 and embarked on a life together that brought them much joy.  Her dream of having a "place at the beach" was fulfilled upon buying a beautiful condo in Seaside Heights.  Many years of family holidays were spent there entertaining growing family and doing what Judy loved the most..... feeding people!  She was an amazing cook and our family dinners were legendary.  Her love of the beach took her to places all over the world with Vince and she and Ken spent many times on the Happy Island of Aruba. Relaxing on the sand in Seaside Heights with good friends and family was her favorite thing, but maybe a close second to her enjoyment of a day at ANY casino! And she was a WINNER very often.

Our lives were "rocked in May 2015 when she was first diagnosed with advanced Uterine Carcinoma. She endured surgury, chemo and radiation and we thought we had it beat. But in October 2017, a routine scan gave us our worst nightmare,that it had spread to her lungs. She kept the second round from most people, she never wanted to be"that poor sick woman". We lived life to the fullest while enduring on going treatments, clinical trials etc. Every facility knew her by first name and her smile and positive attitude was an inspiration to many.  In June of this year, after a clinical trial which was one of our last hopes, stopped working it was her decision to not undergo any more treatment. She had remained positive til the end. We all mourn her loss and celebrate her freedom.

Nothing brought Judy more joy than her grandchildren. They adored her and she them. It also brought her immense joy to welcome Ken's first granddaughter, Lainey, on July 5, 2023 and seeing and holding her a few times and enjoying pictures over the last 2 months. She wil also be missed by Ken's children, Leah (Micheal and Lainey) Hollander and Alex (Patterson) Hillman,