The Heart of Greenwich, Right at Home
For Judy Schedler, life has always been about moving forward, embracing new experiences and bringing people along for the ride.
It is a spirit that once led her to drive across the country to begin a career in New York City. Decades later, it inspired her to create the “Go Girls,” a group that brings single women together for dinners, concerts, outings and, most importantly, connection.
Today, that same adventurous, community-minded spirit continues in the next chapter of her story, deeply rooted in Greenwich.
An Adventurous Beginning
For nearly 50 years, Greenwich has been home for Judy Schedler. But her story began in Salt Lake City, where she earned an accounting degree before setting out on an adventure that would lead her east.
One of only a handful of women entering the accounting profession in the late 1960s, Judy packed everything she owned into a car and drove to New York City to begin her career. On her very first day, every one of her belongings was stolen from that car. Instead of turning back, she bought a few essentials and went to work.
“People say to me now, ‘Why didn’t you just go home?’ It never, ever crossed my mind,” Judy recalls. “It was just… life.”
After marrying her husband, Spencer, the couple lived in Washington, D.C., and Houston before choosing Greenwich to raise their family.
“We kind of investigated where we wanted to live in the New York area and decided Greenwich would be the place.”
Building a Life in Greenwich
The Schedlers became deeply rooted in Greenwich, where they raised their three sons, built lasting friendships and immersed themselves in the community.
For decades, there was hardly a corner of town life the Schedlers did not touch. Judy led the Old Greenwich/Riverside Newcomers Club and served on boards spanning the schools her sons attended, the Junior League of Greenwich and community organizations serving everyone from teens to seniors.
When two of their sons joined the nascent rugby club at Greenwich High School, Spencer embraced the program as chaperone, photographer, mentor and advocate as it grew. Following his passing in 2004 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, Judy established the Spencer Schedler Rugby Scholarship, which supported graduating Greenwich High School student-athletes for 25 years before concluding this year—a meaningful legacy that continues through the lives it touched.
After Spencer’s passing, Judy spent each winter in Dallas, near her only grandchildren, returning each spring to a home filled with cherished memories, but one that no longer fit the life she wanted.
“I loved my home, but I did not need all that house just for myself—and I did not want to move twice.”
The Go Girls: An Invitation to Connect
Judy had spent a lifetime building relationships, so when she recognized that other women were navigating new chapters of their own, she did what came naturally: She brought people together.
She founded the “Go Girls,” a social group created to connect single women through dinners, concerts, outings and shared experiences. There was no grand plan or formal organization. It began with a thoughtful invitation and a simple belief that life is richer when people have opportunities to truly know one another.
“I always try to include a meal,” Judy says. “It is about enjoying the people you are with and connecting on a deeper level.”
Over the years, meals have become conversations and outings have grown into friendships. The group has continued to evolve, welcoming women across generations and creating new traditions along the way. Judy remains the connector behind it all, taking care of the details, finding experiences people will enjoy and, most importantly, making space for new relationships to form.
In many ways, the Go Girls reflect the same spirit that carried Judy from Salt Lake City to New York City decades earlier. She has never been one to wait for life to come to her. Whether packing a car for a cross-country adventure or sending an invitation to dinner, Judy believes in showing up, moving forward and embracing what comes next.
Still Greenwich, Still Home
Judy moved to Edgehill at age 73 and quickly discovered she had not left Greenwich behind. Located on 22 wooded acres along the Greenwich-Stamford border, Edgehill is a continuing care retirement community where residents like Judy enjoy an active, maintenance-free lifestyle today with the reassurance that additional support is available if their needs ever change.
“It is just a different address in Greenwich,” she says. “I have no worries about home maintenance and meals, and I get to focus on all the connections, friendships and activities I love.”
For Judy, that includes staying active in the pool, where she swims and takes water aerobics classes. It is another part of the full life she continues to enjoy—one that balances time with friends, community involvement and the activities that keep her moving.
Today, Judy’s Edgehill apartment home is exactly as she envisioned it—thoughtfully customized and filled with cherished artwork and treasured furnishings collected over a lifetime.
Even with a slightly changed address, she remains deeply engaged throughout greater Greenwich, volunteering, serving on local boards and supporting organizations including Hill House, the Greenwich Choral Society, the Greenwich Symphony and Stanwich Church, among many others.
She also continues to organize Go Girls gatherings, creating opportunities for friendship, conversation and shared experiences. At Edgehill, that instinct to connect with others has found even more room to flourish as Judy embraces new friendships while remaining close to the community she has known for nearly five decades.
“I still live in Greenwich,” she says with a smile. “Almost everything I do is Greenwich.”