Judith Ann Easton

Cherished friend, devoted life partner, and talented theatre artist, Judith Ann Easton passed away on May 2nd, 2025.

Judith was born and raised in the small college town of Delaware, Ohio, where her father, Loyd Easton, was a philosophy professor at Ohio Wesleyan University, specializing in the works of Hegel and Marx. As a teenager, Judith spent summers working as a tour guide at the nearby Olentangy Caverns. She completed high school a year early and headed to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she studied sociology and theatre. Judith later earned her MFA in Acting and Directing from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago—a time she often recalled with gratitude, especially for the mentorship of influential teachers like Dr. Bella Itkin and Joseph Slowik.

Judith’s Chicago theatre career flourished after Goodman. In 1980, she became a founding member of the critically acclaimed and Jeff Award-winning The Commons Theatre. Alongside fellow co-founders Mike Nowak and Kathleen Thompson, Judith’s vision and talent helped elevate The Commons to prominence in the Off-Loop theatre scene, where she also served as one of its final Artistic Directors. Her standout performances included roles in The Three Sisters, Tales from Hollywood, Caucasian Chalk Circle, and The Lower Depths.

She also left a lasting mark with Touchstone Theatre, where she regularly reprised the role of the Fox in their holiday production of The Little Prince. In a 1989 review, The Reader's Lawrence Bommer praised her performance: “My favorite scene was the lovely exchange between the Little Prince and Judith Easton’s marvelous Fox. Without condescension or cuteness, Easton touchingly conveys the Fox’s lesson that we’re made unique by what we tame.” The following year, Patrick Clinton wrote: “Judith Easton gives the Fox a hectic, doggish quality without falling into mere physical gags… She has to get across Saint-Exupéry’s central idea: that we must tame the world and be tamed by it if we are to live happily. As she performs the famous speech, the stylized gestures seem utterly in character, a way of underlining the magic behind the words.”

Judith also performed in Kabuki Medea, a groundbreaking production directed by Shozo Sato for Wisdom Bridge Theatre, which toured to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

In addition to acting and directing, Judith co-produced the Off-Off-Loop Theatre Festivals. Passionate about grassroots theatre, she championed emerging voices and small storefront productions—companies driven by little more than creativity, resilience, and the sweat of dedicated artists.

Judith was proud to earn certification from the American College of Sports Medicine and went on to become a sought-after health and wellness professional. Her career included roles as a personal trainer, aerobics instructor, meditation coach, and fitness specialist—working both independently and at Galter LifeCenter at Swedish Covenant Hospital. She deepened her meditation practice through training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with its founder, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Her voiceover work brought her talents to the airwaves through Unshackled, a radio drama with a devoted listenership spanning more than 75 years. For Judith, Unshackled offered a rare and meaningful opportunity to merge her artistry with her Christian faith. Her voice lives on in its archives—a legacy of conviction, empathy, and storytelling that will be appreciated in perpetuity.

Judith also loved to travel. She and her beloved husband, Lawrence Hammer, crisscrossed the country on road trips, although one of her most treasured adventures was abroad, driving through France’s Loire Valley with a friend. Together, they toured châteaux and stayed at charming farmhouse B&Bs, beginning and ending their trip of a lifetime in Paris. As the only one of the pair experienced with a stick shift, Judith did most of the driving, with her friend navigating. They got lost frequently in the French countryside in those pre-GPS days.

The youngest of three, Judith endured the heartbreaking loss of her mother to cancer when she was just eight years old. Her fondest memories of childhood were of her mother playing the harp in the family home. When Judith herself was diagnosed with cancer at the same age her mother had been, she fought intently—undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. During the years she was in remission, or tolerating treatments well, she relished working on episodes of Unshackled, one of the longest-running radio dramas in history and one of a very few still in production in the United States.

It was during this time that she established a cozy home with Lawrence. When a close friend’s husband was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Judith and Lawrence frequently hosted the couple, offering patience, understanding, and support—an enduring reflection of the compassion at the core of Judith’s being.

Lawrence, a longtime professional in the film industry with a deep appreciation for storytelling, shared Judith’s passion for the arts and progressive ideals. Together, they built a life grounded in mutual respect, creativity, and care. Judith also formed a deep and lasting bond with Lawrence’s children, giving loving advice, emotional support, and encouragement throughout their lives. She was an important presence in their personal and professional journeys.

Over the last two decades, Judith became increasingly involved in local politics, proudly advocating for liberal and progressive causes within a community widely regarded as a conservative stronghold. She served as First Vice Chair of the Addison Township Democratic Organization and was elected as a Library Trustee for the Village of Addison. In a fitting final chapter to her artistic journey, Judith was recently honored by Unshackled for 45 years of service—recognizing a lifetime of storytelling rooted in faith, compassion, and conviction.

Predeceased by brother, David Easton, Judith is survived by her husband, Lawrence Hammer, step-children Blake Irwin, Julia Rhodes, Alex Darr, sisters Carol and Anne Easton, cousins, nieces, nephews, innumerable friends and theatre and radio audiences whose lives she touched.

Memorial Visitation

June 8th, 2025

2pm to 5pm