Described by her fellow members of the legendary comedy club Second City as "an absolute paragon of a human being with the heart of a lion beating beneath that sweet veneer," beloved Chicago comedienne Judy Grace Fabjance passed away Aug. 20 after waging an eight-year war with breast cancer that, according to her sister Cathi, "astounded her team of doctors with her strength and fight."
Fabjance has not only bequeathed a legacy of boundless love for wife Kelly Beeman, young daughter Daphne and family members Cathi, John, Tom, Gary and Stephanie, but the enduring echoes of nearly a quarter-century of laughter that she engendered with consummate ease from audiences both at Second City and the 20-year-old LGBTQ sketch-comedy revue GayCo which began life as a "lesbigay focused workshop at the Second City Training Center."
"Judy's first big splash was as part of this trailblazing ensemble, which went on to create dozens of critically acclaimed revues that didn't just open the door for the LGBTQ comedy community it essentially hacked that door into a million pieces," wrote Second City Members Andrew Alexander, Kelly Leonard and Kerry Sheehan just 12 days before Fabjance died. "We credit Judy's talent and drive for making GayCo such a roaring success."
"She was so strong and beat every odd thrown at her and now she is at peace," GayCo Productions wrote on social media. "She was the longest and strongest member of our company and it goes without saying—THE FUNNIEST! We are going to miss the shit out of you."
While the evil of cancer has wrought as much fear and tragedy as it has tales of courage and determination, for Fabjance it was fodder for comedy material.
Her one-woman show Are You There Judy? It's Me Cancer played to sold-out houses, according to a January 2015 interview she gave to Windy City Times reporter Liz Baudler.
"There were doctors there, nurses there, survivors, caregivers, and people would come up to be after the show and be sobbing, thanking me for sharing my story," Fabjance said, "telling me about their story, and laughing too, saying, 'I really like the part about this, I can relate to it, and yeah, doctors do say this all the time.' It then became about other people. I'm doing this for those who are not around to do this, who might not have the energy to do this."
Three years earlier, Fabjance was beginning another round of chemotherapy which is a frightening a debilitating prospect for many patients.
Yet, in her blog Judy's Journey to Recovery, Fabjance wrote "Something I find entertaining is how many times different nurses keep asking me if there is any chance that I could be pregnant. I know they have to ask—I even had to take a pregnancy test before one of my tests. I assure them that there is no way that I could be pregnant ( without telling them that I am a Lesbian ). When they ask, I giggle and look at Kelly."
In a GoFundMe page for Fabjance's medical bills, sister Cathi described Fabjance's desire to be with her daughter as "precious time."
She didn't want to miss any nights with her.
Daphne was her own, but Fabjance loved the young so much that she reveled in teaching them her art.
"Once a shy kid herself, Judy loves to watch young students come out of their shells," Alexander, Leonard and Sheehan wrote. "Her aim has never been to teach comedy; she strives to change people's lives for the better, claiming, 'The world would be a better place if everyone took at least one improv class.'"
Fabjance achieved that and more.
She accomplished what so few are able or sometimes even willing to try: she made the world a better place and she did so with every moment of hilarity that she delivered, with the generations of Second City students who will follow her lead and with the kind of optimism to inspire those facing cancer or any seemingly insurmountable challenge that there is a funny side to anything even if it is a free wig.
"I went to the American Cancer Society this past Friday to get a free wig," Fabjance wrote in 2009. "It was fun! I went from being embarrassed to feeling like cancer girl to having fun. I laughed a lot. I think it was the most I laughed about cancer since I was diagnosed. It was a much needed laugh."
To assist Fabjance's family with outstanding medical bills and scholarship funds for her daughter, visit www.gofundme.com/JudyFabjance .
