Judy (Maiorino) Buchholz grew up in Seymour, then lived and raised her family in Naugatuck. She was an accountant by trade, but a true artist who enjoyed sketching, oil, watercolors, paint, ink, sewing, organization, interior and landscape design. Between work, family, and eight grandchildren, there was always something going on. Whether it was a spreadsheet, a house project, a Red Sox, Patriots or UConn Women's Basketball game, sewing dresses, helping make backdrops and altering color guard uniforms, or an afternoon with her grandchildren, she always found time for the people and things that mattered to her.

Judy had a way of staying involved in what everyone was doing. She could spend an afternoon watching Supernatural with Mike or Bluey with her grandson, talking shop endlessly, sketching room layouts on graph paper, or finding the next arts-and-crafts class to take with her grandkids. Nixon will always remember playing trains on the floor with Bamma because if you’re going to play trains, she was going to make the biggest, best train track. She played soccer as an adult and always said she would have been an athlete if girls had more chances to play sports when she was young. Camping trips in Maine for the fourth of July were another favorite tradition.

As kids, her family remembers coming downstairs and finding her curled up by the bay window on Field Street with a cup of coffee, an Entenmann's pastry, and a view of the yard. Years later, not much changed. She still looked forward to a cup of coffee when the sun was hot, spending time designing (and redesigning) her home & garden, and getting into a car that had been sitting in the summer heat all afternoon.

Judy was also the person behind many of the family's traditions. Thanksgiving meant name cards and decorations made by her grandchildren and sleepovers the night before. Christmas was matching family pajamas for everyone, even if it meant making a pair or two herself so nobody was left out and everyone had the right size, ornaments packed in boxes decorated with her own drawings so everyone knew where each ornament belonged when it was time to take down the tree, gift tags that were never just "To" and "From," and hours spent making cranberry nut loaves for family, friends, and coworkers. One of the most memorable Christmas Eves, everyone stayed until after midnight playing Cards Against Humanity, even though the grandkids were probably too young for it.

Her chicken & stuffing and potato salad were the best family comfort food. She spent way too many lunch breaks sharing a chicken cutlet grinder from Manor Inn, with sautéed onions, always cut into thirds. And if there was cartilage left on a chicken bone, she was going to eat it!

Her grandchildren knew she was always willing to make time. There were pancakes made into letters and shapes, arts-and-crafts classes, afternoons spent working through Excel spreadsheets, camp ice cream, and never saying no to a trip to Boston on short notice. She took a granddaughter to an art event to meet an architect she was excited about and saved the day at a doctor's appointment with an orange soda. When family was getting ready to open a new business, Judy was there painting walls, working on logos, talking through ideas, and helping wherever she was needed. Experiences were her favorite gifts: classes, thrifting trips, and afternoons spent together. A dolphin with no dorsal fin and a self-portrait project still make everyone laugh. Judy was so excited on one trip to find the missing Tupperware measuring cup that finally completed her set, just as the shop was closing. Her egg-shaped whisk was always out on the kitchen counter.

Judy loved Jeeps and kept a toy Jeep in her office beside her family photos. Her grandchildren played with it whenever they visited, and coworkers still remember it sitting on her shelf. A trip through the drive-through was always an adventure, with Judy trying to hear the speaker while everyone else in the car talked at the same time. She must have said a thousand times, “Hold on, that’s my bad ear,” and we still never knew which ear was the good ear!

Counting dinner plates and planning holidays will always be The Originals, five plus everyone else. You can rest your eyes in peace now, Mom.

Judy is survived by her husband, Michael Buchholz; her son, Kevin Buchholz and his wife, Beth, of Cheshire, and their children Olivia, Nixon, and Sloan; her daughter, Gretchen Scully and her husband, Sean, of Naugatuck, and their children Mackenzie and Piper; and her daughter, Jennifer and her husband, Chris, and their children Avery, Carsyn, and Macy. She is also survived by her parents, John and Clare Maiorino of Seymour, and her brothers, John Maiorino and his wife, Tina, of New Hampshire, and Frank Maiorino of New Hampshire.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, October 16, 2026 at 10AM at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, 1006 New Haven Road, Naugatuck, CT. Please meet directly at church. Interment will follow at Grove Cemetery, Cross Street, Naugatuck, CT. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Judy’s memory to: Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center in Waterbury.