Jude Ann Gochee

JUDE ANN GOCHEE, 66, owner of Graystone Furniture here in Taos, died August 9th after a sudden recurrence of cancer. She was able to fulfill her wish to die at home, surrounded by friends. Her passion and enthusiasm for people, business and life will be missed by all who knew her. Born in 1952 in Vermont, Jude worked her way through college, earning a degree in Education. Always hard-working, Jude tossed pizza, taught in elementary school, and sold cars so well she became the General Manager of Sales in a dealership in Vermont for 15 years. Later she moved to Massachusetts and managed a retail business. Then, as with so many of us, a visit to Taos changed her life. Two years later she made the move to Taos and in 2002 started her own business, Graystone Furniture. Her ease with people, her understanding of a niche in business that needed to be filled, and again her hard work expanded into the addition of the Sofa Gallery as well. Her smile was contagious, her appeal immediate. Her friends are all the better for her having been in their lives. Jude is survived by her cousin Alison Clark in New Hampshire. A memorial for Jude will be held at one of her favorite places, The Trading Post, on Saturday September 8th, from 2 - 4 pm. Arrangements by Rivera Family Funeral Home. To share a memory, please visit our website at www.riverafuneralhome.com