Judy Hakes Griffith, 84, passed away due to complications of a sudden kidney infection (pyelonephritis) at her residence in Helena, MT, on February 17, 2026. Judy was born on June 21, 1941, on the U.S. Naval Air Base at Women’s Bay located on Kodiak Island, Alaska, to Vern and Irma Hakes. Her father was a civilian contractor assisting with the construction of the base. Judy spent her first Christmas with her mother, older sister, and other wives and children of base workers aboard a ship bound for Seattle. They were being evacuated from Alaskan military-critical locations due to increased tensions following the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7th. The ship navigated in darkness and silence to evade potential Japanese submarine threats prowling the Pacific coast. Her mother recorded in her baby book at that time, “Judy was a good baby,” seemingly a sign of her innate awareness of what to do in crisis moments. It was the beginning of not just an adventurous life but one full of accomplishment, deep personal loss, and a loving devotion to the well-being of people around her.
Her childhood and growing-up time in Billings, MT, was initially joyful. She described playful freedom wandering around her neighborhood with siblings, local children, and fun activities her mother contrived for all the children. Her father bought her a motorcycle, which she rode off eagerly to examine the rimrocks at speed.
In her mid-adolescence, though, alcoholism afflicted her father, who had been a successful builder. Along with the alcoholism came the end of her parents’ marriage. When Judy was 16, her 9-year-old brother completed suicide. She was forced immediately into adulthood, comforting her youngest brother, who was 6 at the time, and assuming responsibilities her mother couldn’t. Judy was 19 when her father then took his own life.
She was educated in Billings, graduating from Billings Senior and then going on to the Billings LPN school.
In November of 1960, Judy married Donald Fredericksen. In November of 1961, she gave birth to a beautiful boy, Michael. That marriage would end, and she and her son would move to Helena to begin a new life of hope and promise. She went to work for the VA in Helena as an LPN and then Kaiser Permanente Cement in Montana City as an Industrial Nurse.
Judy was adventurous to say the least. In 1967, she took up sky diving. She completed several successful jumps on her own. Unfortunately, one jump would end her sky diving career. She talks about the jump in a letter she wrote to her mother while recovering in the hospital. She had miscalculated her landing, consequently injuring her back in the process. Her daughter, Lani, and granddaughter, Rachel, have carried on her sky diving tradition.
It was in Helena that Judy fell in love with a handsome young banker by the name of Michael James Griffith. They married in February of 1968. In 1970, she gave birth to their daughter, Lani. Mike and Judy would go on to raise their children in a beautiful home on the upper west side of Helena. She loved motherhood, family, her home, and the neighborhood. She enjoyed hosting dinners for friends and birthday parties and sleepovers for her children. Her home and backyard were always welcoming. She enjoyed the times spent outdoors in Montana with family and friends skiing and camping.
After Lani was born, Judy was able to stay at home. In 1976, she took up sewing ski hats out of her home. She started with just a few, but the hobby grew into a very successful business venture called Mad Hatter Inc., which landed her a feature in the Independent Record. She made and sold hundreds of those hats to shops in Montana and Idaho.
With the alcoholism that affected her family, Judy started attending workshops to better understand it. In the process, people sponsoring the Community Intervention workshops based in Minnesota, where she first attended, recognized Judy’s ability to understand and communicate the foundation of addiction, not only for her own understanding and well-being, but for others. She rapidly went from a participant in workshops to leading them.
Judy became a Montana Licensed Addiction Counselor and a National Certified Addiction Counselor, then created parenting programs in Helena supporting and informing parents about chemical addiction. She consulted with Shodair Hospital, helping establish the Adolescent Treatment Center and later working as Admissions Director and then Marketing and Community Resources Director. Judy developed a private practice family and chemical dependency counseling service called Family Connection. She was a consultant for St. Peters Hospital for the Psychiatric Unit. She was also employed by Helena School District #1 for 28 years, most notably as Chemical Awareness Program Coordinator, where she developed programs for teachers, principals, counselors, nurses, and others to be trained and to support students affected by chemicals: Focus groups at the high school level and Care groups in middle schools. She offered Insight groups for students returning to school from outside treatment programs at both Helena and Capital High. She was a captivating speaker and presented at conferences in Montana, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Scotland, and more. From 1980 through at least 2017, she was an Independent Interventionist, providing intervention training and facilitation for families, schools, and businesses.
Judy was passionately involved in suicide prevention efforts and mental health awareness in Montana. She was involved in NAMI Montana (National Alliance on Mental Illness) as a former Helena Board Member, Crisis Intervention Team Law Enforcement Trainer, and NAMI Walk Schools Coordinator. She was a certified QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) Instructor and taught QPR gatekeeper training to a wide variety of audiences in the Great Falls and Helena communities, including in the Helena School District. Leading QPR gatekeeper trainings, Judy taught people to recognize warning signs of someone thinking about suicide, Question the person about their suicidal thoughts, Persuade the person that supportive care and life-saving resources are available, and then Refer and connect them with those lifesaving resources. Judy’s commitment to teaching QPR impacted those she taught and empowered them to reach out to those considering suicide, get them the support they needed, and saved many lives.
Judy was one of the Independent Record’s “Fifty who Make a Difference” in March 1986, and she was awarded Carroll College’s Community Service Award in 1994.
Beyond her long list of accomplishments, Maya Angelou’s quote: “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” underlines Judy’s real accomplishment. She touched people’s lives; she made them feel heard, she helped them understand their pain, and she inspired many to survive their pain and resulting addictions, and inspired them to find hope in keeping on. She did that with heart, knowledge, and an incredible sense of humor.
Judy herself was in recovery. She had 46 years of sobriety at the time of her death. She enjoyed many years of 12-step recovery and helped countless others to find sobriety, like her mother Irma before her in Billings. The AA community was like a 2nd family to her. They were her rock. One of her favorite quotes was, “recovery is a party to which you have all been invited. Are you going to sit on the sidelines or join in the dance?”
In 2002, Judy became a grandmother to Rachel. What an incredibly loving, supportive, and fun “Gma” she would be, even moving to Great Falls for 8 years to be closer to her granddaughter. They formed a special bond that only they could. Gma J didn’t miss much in Rachel’s life. Come rain or shine. Even recently watching her play rugby in the rain. She was one of Rachel’s biggest fans and will be missed on the sidelines in all aspects.
Judy is survived by her son Michael D. Griffith (Laura), daughter Lani Griffith Porter, granddaughter Rachel Porter, sister Joyce Long, brother Richard Hakes, niece Linda (Neal) Harris, nephew John (Lorri) Long and nephew David Rikustid. She was preceded in death by her mother Irma Winslow Hakes, her father Vern Hakes, and her younger brother Donald Hakes.
A Celebration of Judy’s Life is being held at Anderson Stevenson Wilke and Retz Funeral Home in Helena on June 23rd, 2026, at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in Judy’s memory to NAMI Montana or Helena Food Share.
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