Judy was born on December 18, 1946, at Lemmon, South Dakota Hospital to Clarence and Lorene (Koltz) Davidson. The family lived on a farm in Hayes, ND. When Judy was five years old, her mother passed away from a heart attack. After high school, Judy married, John Holt on January 2, 1965, in Belle Fourche, SD. In Belfield, John and Judy managed a grain elevator. They moved onto a farm where she raised a variety of animals from chickens to appaloosa horses. Her favorite horse was a leopard appaloosa named, Apache, who was a grandson of John Wayne's famous Cochise.

John later worked for the oil fields and Judy continued to manage the elevator. On March 23, 1980, John was tragically killed in a trucking accident in the oil fields. Judy was devastated. She sold the farm and had to get rid of everything. She continued on waiting tables and other odd jobs here and there to make a living. All she had left were the clothes on her back and her station wagon, Ol' Smokey. Her friend, Wendy Beard, heard about a wagon train in SD for the Days of '76 in 1985, and Judy said she would join her. This is where she met Jim Grover. Jim was a widow with six daughters.

They had a lot in common and had a really good time on the wagon train. After she went back to ND, a month later she decided he was the one she wanted to be with, so she moved back to SD. The two got an apartment for a while and then rented a house in Belle Fourche. Two years later, they had a daughter, Mary. Five years later they moved to Newell, SD. Mary started school and the three of them bought a trailer house across from the school. They rode horseback and worked cattle in the summer for ranchers around the Newell area. In the summertime at the end of July they would all three go on the wagon train where they had originally met in the Black Hills.

In 2005, Mary graduated high school and moved away for college. Then, on April 1, 2014, Jim passed away. Judy was alone again. She remained in Newell with her cat, Quinn. Her health started to decline, and she started dialysis in Spearfish and went for three years. On June 28, 2022, she fell and ended up in the hospital in Rapid City, SD. She did not recover and had to go to Avantara Mountain View nursing home in Rapid City where she had her final moments.

On April 8, 2023, Judy passed away peacefully in the nursing home. The whole staff loved Judy with her fun and silly personality. She was a talented artist and shared her drawings with the residents and the staff there.

Judy is survived by her daughter, Mary (Grover) and Jason Machristie; also, Jim Grover's six daughters and their families.

She is preceded in death by both her parents, a brother, first husband John Holt, second husband, Jim Grover, and her favorite cat, Quinn.

Judy will be cremated and buried with her husband, John Holt, at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.  There will be no service.