Judy Roach volunteers throughout Wimberley

As you grow older, you will discover you have two hands — one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

– Audrey Hepburn

That is true for many volunteers in Wimberley. Judy Roach is not only one of those but is also many other things like a real estate agent, newlywed, mother, grandmother and board member of one or more nonprofit organizations in town. You might see her masked face around town, and before the pandemic, her full face while staffing the information desk at the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“I love Wimberley and volunteering,” she said. Helping people is just natural to her, a skill most important when selling real estate, a job she’s been do-ing for over 30 years.

“You have to be a people person,” she said.

When COVID-19 first hit, Camp Young Judaea in Woodcreek provided food to first responders. She delivered food to Dr. Price and Dr. Hernandez every Wednesday. She is a current board member of Habitat for Humanity, this month, a returning member of the Chamber of Commerce, “After six years you have to get off for a year,” and the Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance (WVACA) promotes a vibrant cultural arts community through appreciation, collaboration and education.

Judy was born in Abilene, but moved with her family to Houston where she graduated from Robert E. Lee High School and attended Texas Christian University. She finished her degree at Houston Baptist University and majored in Elementary Education and Psychology. “I taught fourth grade for three years and I loved it.”

Completing her degree at Houston Baptist University, she considers her biggest accomplishment. “Finishing college. I was single mom going back to school. I just put my head down and got the work done… It was hard to go straight through. I had never worked before. I was a stay-at-home mom.” Her grandson enrolled at TCU this year. “I’m so proud.”

She then got into real estate, her ongoing career, which led her to Wimberley where she moved in 2012. She and her newlywed husband Jeff Peterson have been married a year on January 1. Their marriage a year earlier was at their New Year’s party. When friends arrived, with no warning, they were married.

During COVID-19, she’s been playing golf and encourages people to visit the San Antonio Zoo, which has been converted into a drive through zoo. “It’s the coolest thing.” An old pleasure has returned. “I’ve been reading again, I read all the time. I just stepped up and got back to reading. Something I enjoy with the TV off.”

But until things can get to normal, most projects for nonprofits around town are on hold. The same for Habitat for Humanity’s Big Build, the land is cleared for House #22 and is waiting and waiting to be built.

“If we can just hang in there, it will be over,” Judy said. “It is a mantra a lot of us just keep repeating.”