The legacy of chiropractic runs strong in some families, continuing through
multiple generations. When Kalie Elizabeth Judge of LaSalle, Ill., receives her
diploma from Palmer College of Chiropractic during commencement ceremonies at 1
p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22, she will be the 32nd person in her family to become a
chiropractor.
In
October 2006, her brother, James E. Judge, D.C., and cousin, Dr. Christopher M.
Judge, graduated from Palmer College as the 28th and 29th in the Judge family to
become chiropractors. Then in 2008 and 2009 Kalie’s cousins Drs. T.J. Sheedy and
Zack Sheedy graduated from Palmer to become the 30th and 31st members of the
family to join the profession. Kalie E. Judge plans to practice with her
brother, Dr. James E. Judge, at his practice in St. Charles, Ill., following
Friday’s graduation.
“I was asked the following question many times as a
student at Palmer, ‘Are you in chiropractic or is chiropractic in you?’ It took
me a while to understand what that truly meant, but I can answer that question
now without any hesitation,” Kalie says. “Chiropractic is in me. It is an honor
to be a part of this large family that all share a similar passion. It is my
dream to bring health and healing to the world through the chiropractic
principles and the five essentials of maximized living. I have had this dream
since I was eight years old and I voiced my plans to become a chiropractor to my
dad and my grandpa Doc while we were standing around the fire at The Lake. I
learned more philosophy by the age of ten then most chiropractors do their
entire lives. My grandpa Doc always used to make sure that we all had P.M.A.
(positive mental attitude), and I know that those three letters helped keep my
head up while I was going through Palmer and in the middle of heavy test loads.
It is time to ‘keep on keepin’ on’ now and I cannot wait to see what my future
has in store for me. I’ll keep this quote from B.J. Palmer in mind as I begin my
life as a chiropractor, ‘You never know how far reaching something you may say,
think, or do will affect the lives of millions tomorrow.’”
There will be 22 members
of the Judge family joining Kalie as she crosses the stage in the auditorium of
Vickie Anne Palmer Hall on Palmer’s Davenport Campus. It’s a Palmer tradition
that members of the graduate’s family who have previously graduated from Palmer
may join them onstage as they receive their diploma. She also will be having
close to 50 additional family and friends there to celebrate this historical
moment in the family’s history.
The first generation of Judges to become chiropractors
was represented by James Bernard Judge, D.C., a 1925 graduate of the then Palmer
School of Chiropractic. He died in 1956, after practicing first in Iowa, then
British Columbia, and finally in his hometown of Albia, Iowa. According to a
family history, “Whenever illness occurred among the nine brothers and sisters
and their spouses and progeny, there was never a question of where to go. ‘Doc’
took care of everything except obstetrics and broken bones. If a patient wasn’t
up to a trip to town, he would hang a sign on his office door and make a house
call.”
While serving
in the U.S. Navy in World War II, Dr. James B. Judge’s nephew, John J. Judge,
decided to enter the profession, and the second generation made its entrance.
Dr. John’s brother-in-law, George Dickerson, entered Palmer, then a few months
later, John’s brother, Thomas, became a Palmer student, too. Eventually, all
four of John’s brothers, three in-laws and one cousin graduated from palmer
following World War II.
Kalie’s grandfather, Dr. James E. Judge, graduated
from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1954 and continued to build to the
legacy. Since his graduation from Palmer he has had four out of his ten children
follow in his footsteps. “The greatest thing about this family tradition is that
it doesn’t just live with the doctors of chiropractic,” Kalie adds. “Each and
every member of this large family is blessed to have chiropractic running
through their blood. Even those who are not chiropractors live the chiropractic
lifestyle and continue to spread the life-transforming message of chiropractic
to the people around them.
The Judge family’s chiropractic tradition will
continue as the years go on. Another of Kalie’s cousins will be graduating in
the next year and where are a few others that are finishing up their
prerequisites and will be starting Palmer in the next few years.
Quad-City Area
Graduates
The following Quad-City area students will earn their
Doctor of Chiropractic degrees from Palmer on Oct. 22:
Alexis Arguello, Davenport, Iowa
Anya Dague, Eldridge, Iowa
Susan Ewen, Davenport, Iowa
Matthew Groves, Clinton, Iowa
Nicholas Micka, Davenport, Iowa
Marie Ripslinger, Davenport, Iowa
Matthew Strazewski, Eldridge, Iowa
Christopher Tuttle, Rock Island, Ill.
Palmer College of
Chiropractic was founded in 1897 by the discoverer of chiropractic, D.D. Palmer,
in Davenport, Iowa. Approximately 2,300 students attend Palmer College campuses
in Davenport, San Jose, Calif., and Port Orange, Fla. There are more than 26,000
Palmer alumni, who make up more than one third of the approximately 75,000
chiropractors currently in practice worldwide. Palmer’s Doctor of Chiropractic
curriculum is a five-academic-year program that is typically completed in
three-and-one-third calendar years.