Julia (Judy) Meadows Obituary

Julia (Judy) Willett Meadows, age 74, passed away peacefully in Nashville, TN, on July 3, 2025.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1951, she was the daughter of the late Joseph Francis Willett and the late Julia Pennington Willett, and grew up on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

After graduating Salutatorian of her class from Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Judy attended Vanderbilt University, where she was a proud member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and graduated cum laude.

Her career began as a Latin teacher at Immaculate Conception of Memphis, where she was known to be tough—but many students walked away from her class with a lasting love for the language and its deep ties to history. Judy later pivoted to a career in sales. At National Bank of Commerce, she became the first female bond trader to validate. In 1988, she was named the first female bank president at Nashville Bank of Commerce, where she pioneered the implementation of in-store branches in local grocery stores. She later spent years consulting for Financial Selling Systems, working with banks across the country to bring this concept to life. Later in her career, Judy returned to the classroom as a Latin teacher at Father Ryan High School, where she retired in 2011. Her love of Latin and Sales lives on in her daughter, Julia, who studied Latin for seven years and now works in Sales.

Judy’s faith was a steady, meaningful part of her life. If you caught her off guard with a phone call, you’d often hear Christian music playing in the background—her go-to CD genre. In the past five years, her community at The Village Chapel and her church home group were sources of great joy, comfort, and stability.

Judy placed deep value on relationships with family and friends. She was known for her love of long phone calls (the kind that would’ve used up all her minutes in the old days) and for her love of a good catch-up lunch. She had a gift for storytelling and could make anyone laugh with a well-timed comment. One lifelong friend said it best: “I’m flooded with memories and stories that could only be told and retold with the flair and laughter Judy could summon. The recall of detail belongs only to Judy!”

She is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Francis Willett and Julia Pennington Willett, and her brother, Rick Willett.

She is survived by her daughter, Julia Simmons (David) of Nashville, TN; her brother, Buzz Willett (Connie) of Atlanta, GA; her sister-in-law, Rosalie Willett of Atlanta, GA; and three nieces—Anna Clifford (Pat), Lauren Carter (George), and Molly Nielsen (Thomas)—all of Charlotte, NC.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 12th, at 2:00 PM at Williamson Memorial in Franklin, TN. Visitation will begin at 1:00 PM, prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Village Chapel or online at thevillagechapel.com/give.