Judy Lipson

I am a sister who sadly lost both my sisters. I lost my younger beloved sister Jane died at age 22 in an automobile accident in 1981, and my older beloved sister Margie passed away at age 35 after a 20-year battle with anorexia and bulimia in 1990. I am the sole surviving sibling. As the Founder and Chair of “Celebration of Sisters,” this annual ice skating fundraiser honors and commemorates the lives and memories of my beloved sisters to benefit Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. The event is scheduled the first Sunday in November as Jane’s birthday was November 6th and Margie’s November 8th. We celebrate all lost siblings, their legacies as they live on in all of us. Since the inception of Celebration of Sisters in 2011, I have embarked on the journey to mourn the losses of my beloved sisters that had been suppressed for 30 years. The process unmistakably the greatest challenging time in my life proved to be the most empowering, enlightening and freeing. Now that I am allowing my sisters and their memories to return to my heart where they truly belong, I am re-discovering myself, happier and more at peace. Ice skating is a sport shared by me and my sisters and a chord throughout my life. It has brought me full circle to pay tribute to my sisters and bring me joy, peace, healing and the recipient of the US Figure Skating 2020 Get Up Award. My memoir Celebration of Sisters: It is Never Too Late To Grieve will be published in December 2021. It is my goal to advocate for sibling loss to insure surviving siblings are neither alone nor forgotten.

Articles:

Practice Self-Compassion When Grieving

Why is grief still such an uncomfortable word for so many? It is a conversation that makes some people cringe. They do not have the tools to say, “I’m sorry, I can’t understand, please enlighten me.” I hope that by initiating more openness and discussions, the pattern will change. My message to others is practice self-compassion when grieving. For me, the path took thirty years to mourn my beloved sisters Margie and Jane. When ready to commence, break down the walls, an entire breadth and depth of my life ensued. There will always be a hole in my heart, but […]

A Decade of Celebration of Sisters

November 1 would have marked a decade, the Grand Finale of Celebration of Sisters, an annual ice skating event to benefit Massachusetts General Hospital to commemorate the lives and memories of my beloved sisters Margie and Jane. Due to COVID-19 the event will be postponed until November 7, 2021. The time and energy put into the event, a void, a gap in my time, my emotions needed to channel my grief for my sisters whose birthdays come on November 6th and 8th, and the anniversary of the death of my sister Jane on November 7th. For the past nine years, […]

What’s in a Name?

Being pregnant with my first child several years after losing my sister Jane, there was no question in my mind of wanting to name the child for my late sister. How would my parents feel? Out of respect to their grief with great trepidation, I asked the question about having a grandchild sharing the name of their deceased daughter. Thankfully I received the green light. The pregnancy progressed and my deepest desire for a girl to be able to use the name of my treasured sister not divulged to a living sole, kept quiet in my own thoughts. Should the […]

COVID-19 Reminiscences: Two Lost Sisters

We have been sheltered in place for over a month with an abundance of time to think. Not always a prescription for those of us who have lost loved ones coupled with the repeated stories of daily multiple deaths. I have chosen to distance myself from the news and focus on being grateful that my family and now extended family are all safe and healthy. With time on our hands, although challenging, the best practice for me best is to produce a schedule into a non-scheduled existence, finding projects and activities to fill up the days which seem to be […]

After Many Years, So Grateful

I stepped onto the ice after a hiatus of ten days, a substantial break for an adult figure skater to lack practice. Ice skating is my passion, a major focal point in my life, and a sport shared with my beloved sisters Margie and Jane. My legs were shaky as I tried to warm up on the ice and tears streamed down my face. Puzzled by the reaction upon my return to ice skating. I stroked around and got my legs back under me. Somehow, I muddled through my skating lesson and the remainder of the skating session. The interruption […]

When Deaths Accumulate

One life ends, and a new chapter begins. My father’s decline and ultimate death emancipated me, letting the reins loose that I held so tightly. My father and I had spoken daily. I knew the loss of my father, another colossal void in my life, would ensure a huge devastating blow to me. The clock started ticking to do the work necessary to grieve for my sisters, Margie and Jane, who had died years before. My father’s departure altered and transformed the family nucleus. How do we pick up the pieces of a broken family where the crystal had been […]

I Will Always Love You

Much as twins often have a sense when the other is in danger, so do some sisters. The night Jane died, the exact time of her death, both Margie and I woke up at 3:30 AM. We knew. I have no recollection of Jane’s funeral or the Shiva. It is all a fog. I know Margie and I wrote something about our younger sister that the Rabbi read as part of his eulogy. Jane (to us, Janie, our dear sweet little sister): From our earliest memories on Indian Ridge Road, when you cried having your picture taken, you were always too […]

Sisters: The Last of Three

There is no one like a sister. Sisters are constant, champions, and competitors. Margie, Judy, Jane. I am a sister. I had those relationships. I had them for the years I had them. They are always with me. Three sisters. A trio, a triangle, a tripod, and a trilogy. Identified to be proud, secure, pointed in our corners of alterations and dissimilarities, our stories not what we dreamed but the sum of us, our genealogy, the Lipson girls. To discover after so 20 years the cards and letters from my cherished sisters in my basement felt like a most […]

Revelations Along the Grief Ride

The amusement park rides illustrate the trajectory of revelation and power of change. Every ride makes us feel different sensations, from the slow to the chilling speed of the roller coaster to the flowing music as the vibrant horses of the merry-go- round move up and down. The smiles, excitement, and thrill, to the disappointment, anguish and torment at not winning a game or at the completion of the ride and wanting to go again and again. My revelations since my discovery and efforts on grief after years of abandonment feel like I am at the amusement park again with […]

Remembering a Big Sister Who Struggled with Eating Disorder

I never comprehended the summer of 1970. At age 14, I witnessed my beautiful older sister Margie fading away when she picked me up from overnight camp. My sister whom I idolized was a shadow of herself. For so many years, I had held on to who I wanted her to be. Our lives would later veer off the path into a detour neither of us could have fathomed. Despite it all, Margie and I shared a closeness only sisters understand. Although physically I could witness Margie’s decline, my heart always wanted the sister I looked up to. I felt […]

Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.