A Master Mason from Gaines, Michigan Fights Cancer to a Standstill at the Mayo Clinic

How Can One Mason Visit All the Lodges in the Upper Peninsula?

Friday, April 21st, 2023 at 11:03 AM
East English Village
Detroit, Michigan

I knew Larry Judson had accepted a great responsibility with the Grand Masonic Lodge of Michigan. I just didn’t know that Judson was serving Michigan as the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master at Grand Lodge of Michigan, sitting at the right hand of the Grand Master. That explains Judson’s journey to lodge after lodge in the state of Michigan. 

In the meantime, the masonic leader has had time to sell tons of vidalia onions to raise funds for Shriner Kids. They’ll be delivered in May, and maybe you can leave a comment ordering a bag or two. I hope it’s not too late for you. I see fifty-six comments, most of them requesting one or two bags, home delivered for free! These are packed exclusively for the Masons by Tarver Farms in Georgia’s Vidalia Onion region.

We also see our neighbor in action, going on a VIP bus tour to Firekeepers Casino to raise money for breast cancer research at Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  In July, our neighbor and team grilled a ton of steaks to raise money for the Shades of Pink Foundation. The dynamo is even working hard to establish a High Twelve International Club in Owosso, so I’m guessing we can soon talk to our favorite Mason to buy Rada Cutlery knives.

A golf scramble named for Larry Judson took place this year at Glenbrier Golf Course, near Perry Michigan? The tournament draws golf teams from the region, one team all the way from Ann Arbor. The Owosso Argus Press put a sports reporter on the story. What else will I discover to praise my teacher and friend as I look into this cancer journey?

I’ve noticed numerous trips to Chicago to help children access health care at world class hospitals. Judson has even found time to help cook breakfast at the Masonic Lodge in Byron, Michigan, Many of the breakfasts welcome any neighbor from the community, regardless of ability to pay. A donation amount is suggested. I am guessing that cooking lessons become part of every apprentice’s journey.

Some are fundraisers for fellow community groups, including the Lion’s club or the Gaines Community Council.  I would love to go to a Byron breakfast soon, but I haven’t visited Byron since my mother moved into a retirement home. I know my mother and father, Joan and Ed, loved attending these breakfasts. I’m trying to remember who hosted the great breakfast at the Eagle Nest, perch on the green fields of Byron’s earlier football field.

I have good memories of the Masonic Hall in downtown Byron, Michigan. My senior year, our class of 1981 decided to hold an American Red Cross Blood Drive. I had no organizational skills whatsoever, but I called the local chapter of the Red Cross. Suddenly, it was all booked downstairs at the hall. Where else would Byron roll up its sleeves to give blood?

A team of Byron masons showed up and went right to work. Vast amounts of juices, water and baked goods showed up on hospitality tables. Our student team didn’t really understand the concept of publicity. Yet, the Red Cross was very happy with all the pints collected. I rolled up my sleeve and gave my first donation. Donating blood was the hardest work I did all afternoon. People came all the way from Durand to donate. To this day, I have no idea of the great forces that were set to work by a single call.

Judson taught mathematics at Byron Elementary, working on a team with Mrs. Green, Mrs. Vickroy, Mr. Latimer and Mrs. Miller. The math lessons worked because I managed to qualify as a Senior Database Engineer and System Engineer during my career in Information Technology.

When the school district opened a middle school for sixth, seventh and eighth grade, Judson and Latimer transferred to the school. We as a class felt pretty happy about that fact. Judson and Latimer led us our first basketball journeys to represent the Purple and Gold Eagles on the road. I love that the tie worn by the student athlete on game day continues as a tradition.

Mr. Judson helped my brother Matthew and I land our first job. Our mother had signed us up to cruise the Great Lakes on a tall ship named the Highlander Sea. We just needed to raise the money for the journey. Mom and dad had the money, or Grandmother did, but it was prime to for the brothers Juntunen to learn some character.

One night coming home from scouts, mom let us know that Mr. Judson had hired us to work on the farm of his relative, Carl. I had done some farm work for Mr. Jack, a neighboring farmer,  mostly cutting thistle out of his alfalfa field with a sickle. But this was a far more serious job, paying two dollars an hour.

Carl and spouse were patient with us. I was taking a long time painting a fence with a fresh coat of white paint. Carl came out to show me the technique. “Don’t worry about getting paint on the grass. You’ve got to slosh it!” Carl covered several boards in no time at all. In no time, I had the hang of it. Carl had several fields bounded by white board fences, so it took a few days, even sloshing the paint. Carl raised horses for harness racing, so we had a lot of paddocks to paint.

I think of that phrase as I write. “Don’t worry about too many words on the page. You got to slosh it!”

Matt and I were invited to have lunch in the kitchen every day. Carl’s spouse made sandwiches, and filled our glasses high, again and again, with lemonade. We helped ourselves to plates of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. After eating more than our mom would ever think of giving us for lunch, she would ask, “Are you sure you had enough to eat?” There never was a rush to finish lunch and get back to work.

I started to get better at work. I scraped old paint off of porches. I climbed up on the farm house to scrape off loose paint. I had to wash off some stray paint on the window frames after painting a barn white, but it wasn’t hard. A few times, Carl rolled up in the truck, and we drove off to the woodlot to cut up fallen branches. I had already learned how to use a chainsaw from my father, so I never got the blade stuck in a bind.

The family had a business buying and renovating houses. One day, I managed to remove all of the debris from a Michigan basement, including a chopping block that I had to slide up the stairs. Mr. Judson took time to greet my mom that day when she picked us up. He praised me for how surprising it was to have all the work done so quickly. My mom brought it up on the way home. 

When we had raised our sailing money, Mom thanked Mr. Judson. And we never returned to the farm. Years later, I’m pretty sure I was living out a Masonic exercise. It wasn’t that Matt and I were the best or the closest kids for the job. Mr. Judson and his uncle were masons, and they wanted to help two young neighbors earn a Boy Scout trip. They were spreading the cement? You got to slosh it. I hear that’s a Masonic idea. We were city slickers who moved out to a farm from Detroit, and we learned how to work on a productive horse farm.

While living a full life and carrying out Masonic duties, Judson’s battle with cancer hasn’t escaped my attention. I’m now reviewing the battle in reverse, thankful for the timeline posts. Judson  grows more and more outspoken as his cancer journey continues, blazing a trail for those who will follow.

On March 23rd, we see him smiling, holding a card from the Mayo Clinic. The card celebrates the end of treatment after six infusions.  One of the routes to Rochester, Minnesota passes through the UP, so maybe that’s how Judson managed to visit all the lodges in the UP? Despite undergoing a round of infusions, he even managed to help out at the MHSAA Football championships at Ford Field last year in November.

In early February, we see him posing with Dr. Kwon, the two making the V for Victory with their arms. The recent scan found no cancer. This might be Doctor Eugene D. Kwon, M.D., a specialist in Urology and Immunology. It’s a jubilant picture.

In August 2022, we see Judson boarding the S.S. Badger with his spouse Mary Anne, off to the Mayo Clinic for infusion number two. In July 2022, after ringing the treatment bell after a week of radiation, we see the couple celebrating at Target Field, watching the Minnesota Twins take on the Chicago White Sox. Sadly, the White Sox stole a home victory from the Twins, scoring twelve runs to two. And on July 1st, 2022, we see the couple in Rochester, beginning consultations on treatment after working with the Rogel Cancer Center at the University of Michigan.

In late May 2022, Judson had to call upon friends and fellow Masons to deliver a huge order of Vidalias. Cancer had affected his skeleton, and his femur cracked. A quick surgery at Mayo Clinic inserted a titanium rod for support. For pain, the doctors prescribed morphine. Judson had traveled to Ann Arbor for bone strengthening infusions, an infusion in March 2022, even selling Vidalia onions from the infusion lounge.

At some point, I had to give up the trail. I knew what I needed to know. Our Mr. Judson, after a distinguished career of teaching and after a selfless journey of through the world of Masonry, had vanquished cancer at the Mayo Clinic.

And what it this news item? Our Mr. Judson ascends to the Most Worshipful Grand Master May 23rd at the Soaring Eagle Casino, pending election?

The more Vidalia onions you buy, the better the chances! Contact the lodge using the information located on the Byron Lodge #80 F & AM Facebook Page. Chartered in January 1856 by the Grand Lodge of Michigan, the lodge is almost as old as Michigan State University, charter in 1855.

Masonic Meeting, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1919