Judy and colleagues at our 40th anniversary AGM in 2002

A tribute to Judy Lusty, our former Chair

We are sad to hear about the death of Judy Lusty, our former Chair and long-standing advocate for autistic people and their families.

Judy was a parent to two autistic children and supported our charity for almost 60 years in a variety of voluntary roles, including as our Chair in the 1990s. She first got involved in the 1960s, soon after our charity was formed and when there was very little recognition of autism and no support. It’s because of the passion and commitment of people like Judy that things started to change, albeit not quickly enough.  

Judy then joined our Executive Committee - our then Board of Trustees - in the 1970s and helped expand the charity’s support to autistic adults, as well as children. She became our Vice Chair in 1990 and then Chair in 1996. In this vital, voluntary role, Judy led our Trustees’ oversight of our charity, making sure that we met our objectives and complied with charity law and the other regulations governing our work. 

After stepping down in 2000, Judy took on the roles of Senior Councillor and then Vice President. She was a redoubtable fundraiser and over the years raised many thousands for both the National Autistic Society and local autism charities, much by way of opening her house and garden to visitors.

In addition to her involvement with the National Autistic Society, Judy also helped set up three establishments for autistic adults in Gloucestershire, where she lived, called MIDCAS (Mid Counties Autistic Society). After MIDCAS split into three separate bodies, she was for many years Chair of Stroud Court Community Trust. 

We were incredibly lucky to work with Judy for so many years. An internal designer by profession, she was passionate and committed to improving the lives of autistic people and their families, and was a fantastic ambassador for our charity. 

We will miss Judy. We thank her for her stewardship and the huge contribution she made to improving public understanding of autism and evolving support and services for autistic people. Our thoughts are with Judy’s family, friends and everyone who worked closely with her.