Obituary of Judith Muscio

November 22, 2019

She was known as the mom all the other kids wanted, and the one whose house where all of the kids came to hang out.
"My mom always made everyone feel welcomed and like a member of the family," Jessie Muscio Davis said of her mother, Judi Muscio, who spent nearly four decades in fashion as a stylist in New York City. Friends would remark that Judi would step in to be the mom they necessitated in their time of need, whether it was a sensitive ear, understanding heart, warm embrace or just open door and a seat at the dinner table. Judi died Friday night at her home near Union Square Park after a decade long battle with Multiple Systems Atrophy. She was 72.
Judi was born and raised in Queens, New York, an only child of Grace and August Winklestern. Her father, known as Gus, was a bank manager with Chase Manhattan Bank where her mother, Grace, known as "GG" (for Grandma Grace), also worked as a secretary. Summers were spent at GG's house in Judi's beloved Breezy Point where, like Judi, GG had a home where all the kids and friends would gather.
Judi began her professional career at Gimbels where she rose to become an important high-end fashion merchandiser and designer dress buyer. At Gimbels she would travel throughout Europe bringing back the latest trends to America, and it was there where Judi met her husband, Edward Muscio, Jr., Eddie to his friends. Eddie, at the time, was a designer, manufacturer and wholesaler in the blue-jean era while focusing on hippie clothing which happened to also be his personal sense of style, which was quite different from Judi's designer tastes. Gimbels was a particularly treasured account that could mean a big sale for Eddie, so he accompanied his salesman there on an important day. The salesman remarked that he had noticed a beautiful woman that Eddie just had to see in one of the Gimbels's offices. That gorgeous woman, Judi, was revealed to Eddie as a valuable and notable buyer. As a business move, Eddie savvily took the opportunity to invite Judi to their showroom to see his dresses, which she accepted. Judi wasn't interested in any of his company's "hippy" dresses, but not wanting to strike out twice, Eddie asked Judi on a date in the hallway before walking out. She wisely accepted and they began dating in 1974, marrying in 1980.
Judi left Gimbels to start her own line of dresses backed by Interstate Dress Carrier, which lead to Judi and Eddie starting their own retail fashion stores together. Savannah, a high-end store specializing in designer women's wear, and Asphalt Jungle, which focused on punk rock apparel, were both in Cedarhurst, Long Island.
"Our friends and customers would come to the store and see the designers' clothes without a clue as to what to wear with what," said Eddie. "Judi at this point had become known for her personal sense of style, and customers and friends would all ask her to put together outfits for them from the store's stock." Styling her customers blossomed into Judi spreading her wings to embark working professionally as a fashion stylist. Eventually Judi became a globetrotter who worked heavily in the advertising heyday of the 80s and 90s for major brands and retail apparel chains. Judi was known for her flair for color and in-demand sense of trends before they hit the mainstream. Judi's free spirit would lead her to be opportunistic in seizing jobs at adventurous locales, sometimes booking a swimsuit job in order to go on a trip to a new Caribbean island or cruise wear for a trip to Miami. She would always thrill her kids with her travel chronicles which included journeys to Hawaii, Argentina, Ireland, Italy and beyond. She was always sure to bring back mementos for everyone.
Judi loved to dance and spent her nights in the city in the late 70s at Studio 54, while her summers were spent on Candlewood Lake at Judi and Eddie's new weekend lake house. Before kids, Judi and Eddie skinny dipped, hosted their like-minded free spirit friends and sailed. The communal atmosphere of the lake house gave way to family and the 80s brought kids, and the hippie enclave gave way to a family escape. Eddie would take the kids water skiing while Judi tended pridefully to her garden which was both a creative and therapeutic outlet for her. The evenings would be spent dockside where life lessons and spiritual musings would be discussed under the starry Connecticut sky. Of course, all of the kids' friends followed the-house-where-everyone-wanted-to-hang-out from the city to "The Lake" during the summer
"Mom referred to our half-acre plot of land as a 'slice of heaven', our slice" said Judi's son Dean Muscio. "Every summer weekend at The Lake the house was filled with our friends swimming non-stop while my mom would shuttle food and dry towels down to the dock all day. We would spend Sunday mornings at the flea market. I would buy comic books from the vendors as she searched for antiques."
In Judi's final days, her Union Square loft once-again became the place where Judi's extended family, children, grandchildren and friends came together. Everyone was able to have a moment with Judi to wish her well, and Judi passed surrounded by love, as well as up to speed on the latest bits of gossip which she loved. A whisper in Judi's ear gave her one final juicy secret, from someone she adored who thought of Judi as a second mother, that a baby was expected in the coming spring.
Besides her husband, son and daughter, Judi is survived by her son-in-law Doug Davis, daughter-in-law Katie Walsh Muscio, and four grandchildren: Duke, Billie, Cody and Emmerson.
A memorial will be held at the Greenwich Village Funeral Home at 199 Bleeker St from 5:30 – 8:30pm on Monday, November 25. Judi will be cremated with her ashes spread in Breezy Point and at her beloved Candlewood Lake. In-lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the National Organization Of Rare Disorders at www.rarediseases.org/get-involved/donate-now/ways-give

Funeral Services