Judy P. Rockwell Carter, 74, of St. Peters, Missouri and formerly of Belle Plaine, died Sunday, March 10 at her home following a long illness. Memorial Services will be at Belle Plaine's Christ United Methodist Church on Friday, March 15, 2013 at 4 p.m. Visitation will be held at the church one hour before the service on Friday. She will be laid to rest at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Belle Plaine. Fellowship following her graveside service will held at Christ United Methodist Church. Judy was born on January 12, 1939 on the family farm near Belle Plaine, Iowa. She graduated in 1957 from Belle Plaine High School. After high school graduation, she attended Coe College. She met John while going to school in Omaha, NE. They married at Christ United Methodist Church on November 22, 1959 and over the years lived in Omaha, Atkins, IA, Belle Plaine, Woodstock, GA and St. Peters, MO. Judy was an active member of Christ United Methodist Church and Roswell United Methodist Church. She loved to sing and shared her beautiful soprano voice at both churches. She served on the Board of the State of Iowa's United Methodist Foundation making investment decisions in the millions of dollars. She worked on the family farm with her parents, raising cattle, sheep and numerous other animals. She raised and showed West Highland White Terriers all over the country. She was a long-time business owner in Belle Plaine. In the 1970s, she started Carter Realty and sold and resold many homes to residents of Belle Plaine. Judy helped many of Belle Plaine's residents buy their first home, fix and obtain credit, buy and sell the property for their businesses, and sell and re-sell their homes. She hired and trained numerous real estate agents in Belle Plaine, including Berta. She was an active member of Rotary and the economic development of Belle Plaine. Perhaps her most significant contribution to the Belle Plaine community was serving as its first woman mayor. During her term as mayor, she worked tirelessly to make Belle Plaine a strong, thriving city by understanding the inner workings of city government, listening to its citizens, and building the necessary relationships to manage the city efficiently and effectively. She earned the respect of those with whom she worked. One of her most important and rewarding projects during her mayoral terms was her work with Belle Plaine's youth to provide drug education in the schools. She welcomed numerous state officials to Belle Plaine and represented Belle Plaine across the State of Iowa. Judy loved Belle Plaine. She moved to Woodstock, GA to be near to Becky, John and Mitch. She was active with the Westie Club of the South and Roswell United Methodist Church. She moved to St. Peters, MO to be near Berta, Tom, Ashley, Nick, Joey, Jacob, Aden, Andrew and Braden. She is now home with our Lord and resting in Belle Plaine. Survivors include her husband of 53 years, John; two children, Rebecca Stone (John) and Roberta Sheda (Tom); three grandchildren, Ashley Sheda (Nick Penry), Andrew Sheda and Mitch Stone; four great grandchildren, Joey Penry, Jacob Penry, Aden Penry and Braden Sheda. Judy was preceded in death by her parents. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her memory to: Roswell United Methodist Church Music Ministry (Sanctuary Choir), 814 Mimosa Blvd., Roswell, GA 30075 or Westie Club of the South/Rescue, Attn: Gary Pence, 112 Clifford Court, Canton, Georgia 30115