Dr. Judith Sandick

Dr. Judith Eve Sandick of 113 River Road, Edgecomb, Maine, passed away on July 24th surrounded by her family following a long struggle with depression. Judy was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on August 21, 1954. She attended Middlebury College and Albany Medical School and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Albany. She practiced for many years at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta and St. Andrews Hospital in Boothbay Harbor. She cared for her patients deeply and they for her. 

Judy met David Nutt in 1968 and they instantly fell in love. They finally married on July 13, 1985. Their love was a bond above understanding. They managed to juggle their lives between work and their four children, somehow finding a way to always put the kids first. 

In 2000, Judy and her family left on what turned into a five and a half year circumnavigation on their sailboat, Danza. She was the voice of reason when David tried to convince everyone that, no matter the actual conditions, it was only blowing 15 knots and the seas weren’t that big. Throughout the world, people knew that Judy was a healer. Multiple times in the islands of the South Pacific, people would learn a doctor was around and Judy would find herself with lines of patients, a hundred long, waiting to see her.  One time when the Lidocaine ran out, she used her soothing words to keep the pain at bay while stitching a foot back together on a young child in the Solomon Islands. Back on shore, Judy continued to practice medicine at Miles and also traveled overseas to Pakistan, Haiti, and Libya to provide medical care during times of crisis.

Judy was so many things to so many people. She was a ski racer on the National Ski Team, and competed in several World Cup Downhill races. She went off ski jumps at a time when that simply wasn’t acceptable for young women. “Your uterus will fall out!” she was told. It did not. She taught her children to ski and shared and retained this passion, spending much of her time at Sugarloaf Mountain. She was always ready to give the kids tips on how to ski better and gently remind them that she would always be a better skier. 

Judy was utterly compassionate and warm. She and David built a home where the doors were always open, and loud, impromptu dinners with twenty people were not uncommon. She was an instigator—the first to jump in and swim across the Arctic Circle on the sailing expedition to Greenland in 2010. The first to ski the steeps on a powder day on the mountain. The first to share her love. She was profoundly generous, giving her time and love and energy to her family and friends, helping us learn and heal and laugh. She drew the line at sharing her coffee. 

Surviving her and loving her forever are her family, David Nutt; son, David R. Nutt and daughter-in-law Monica Balanoff; daughter, Sarah Nutt; son, Jasper Nutt and daughter-in-law Kimberly Reed Nutt; daughter, Charlotte Nutt; sister, Barbara Sandick; brother, Bennett Sandick; David’s five siblings; and many nieces and nephews. Judy’s love radiated far beyond her blood relatives and she welcomed so many others into the family who continue to love her. 

Instead of flowers, please hug your loved ones. Contributions may be made to the charity of your choice. A celebration will be held at a later date.  Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main Street, Damariscotta, ME 04543. Condolences, and messages for her family, may be expressed by visiting: www.StrongHancock.com. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dr. Judith Sandick, please visit our floral store.