Judith Ann Cornelius Kayser DeBolt
1942 - 2025
Send Flowers
Plant A Tree
Share Judith Ann Cornelius Kayser DeBolt's obituary with others.
Invite friends and family to read the obituary and add memories.
Share Judith Ann Cornelius Kayser DeBolt's obituary with others.
Invite friends and family to read the obituary and add memories.
Judith Ann DeBolt passed away peacefully on October 6, 2025 in Pensacola, Florida.
She was born August 18, 1942, in Springfield, Illinois to Burt Cornelius and Dorothy Mae Kunz. She is survived by her husband of 48 years, William Dean DeBolt, her daughter and son-in-law Jennifer Lynn O'Brien and James O'Brien, her grandchildren William Aaron O'Brien and Jordan Lynn O'Brien, her brothers James Cornelius of New Jersey and Ronald Cornelius of California, and her loving dog Forest and cat Shadow. She was preceded in death by her father and stepmother, Burt and Elma Cornelius, her mother Dorothy M. Logan, and her first husband Ronald Kayser.
Over her career, she was secretary to the Public Administration Program, Sangamon State University (now University of Illinois at Springfield), secretary to the Physics Department, University of West Florida, later Program Assistant to the Faculty Senate, and Leisure Learning/Community University Partnerships at UWF, until her retirement in 2001 after twenty years at the university. She was certified by Professional Secretaries International and named Secretary of the Year by the Pensacola Chapter in 1997.
After retirement, she traveled and lectured on life aboard the Titanic for 3rd class passengers, Margaret Mitchell and the writing of Gone with the Wind, and David O. Selznick and the making of Gone with the Wind, and history of the Oscars, speaking throughout Florida and at Chautauquas in DeFuniak Springs, Ohio and North Carolina.
She was proud of her work in theatre house management with stints at the University Theatre and Music Hall Series at UWF, box office manager for Pensacola Little Theatre and ticket manager for the Saenger Theatre when it reopened in 1981. Of note was the performing arts series of Sangamon State University where she worked with performers like Sir George Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Montoya, and others. She also served for several years as business manager for the Great American People Show, which performed Your Obedient Servant, A. Lincoln outdoors in the summer at New Salem State Park, Petersburg, Illinois.
A burial service for Judy will be conducted in the Spring at the Cornelius family plot in Springfield, Illinois. Memorial donations may be made to the Pensacola Historic Preservation Society, Inc., P.O. Box 12411, Pensacola, FL 32591-2411.
She was born August 18, 1942, in Springfield, Illinois to Burt Cornelius and Dorothy Mae Kunz. She is survived by her husband of 48 years, William Dean DeBolt, her daughter and son-in-law Jennifer Lynn O'Brien and James O'Brien, her grandchildren William Aaron O'Brien and Jordan Lynn O'Brien, her brothers James Cornelius of New Jersey and Ronald Cornelius of California, and her loving dog Forest and cat Shadow. She was preceded in death by her father and stepmother, Burt and Elma Cornelius, her mother Dorothy M. Logan, and her first husband Ronald Kayser.
Over her career, she was secretary to the Public Administration Program, Sangamon State University (now University of Illinois at Springfield), secretary to the Physics Department, University of West Florida, later Program Assistant to the Faculty Senate, and Leisure Learning/Community University Partnerships at UWF, until her retirement in 2001 after twenty years at the university. She was certified by Professional Secretaries International and named Secretary of the Year by the Pensacola Chapter in 1997.
After retirement, she traveled and lectured on life aboard the Titanic for 3rd class passengers, Margaret Mitchell and the writing of Gone with the Wind, and David O. Selznick and the making of Gone with the Wind, and history of the Oscars, speaking throughout Florida and at Chautauquas in DeFuniak Springs, Ohio and North Carolina.
She was proud of her work in theatre house management with stints at the University Theatre and Music Hall Series at UWF, box office manager for Pensacola Little Theatre and ticket manager for the Saenger Theatre when it reopened in 1981. Of note was the performing arts series of Sangamon State University where she worked with performers like Sir George Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Montoya, and others. She also served for several years as business manager for the Great American People Show, which performed Your Obedient Servant, A. Lincoln outdoors in the summer at New Salem State Park, Petersburg, Illinois.
A burial service for Judy will be conducted in the Spring at the Cornelius family plot in Springfield, Illinois. Memorial donations may be made to the Pensacola Historic Preservation Society, Inc., P.O. Box 12411, Pensacola, FL 32591-2411.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Judith Ann Cornelius Kayser DeBolt, please visit our flower store.
Judith Ann Cornelius Kayser DeBolt's Guestbook
Visits: 54
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors