Judith Reglien Janay 86, of Fort Collins, Colorado, died unexpectedly and suddenly of strep-related pneumonia on November 17, 2020. Judith was born in Michigan City, Indiana on November 22, 1933 to Dr. Norman and Hazel Reglien, a nurse. She spent happy time as a youngster swimming and frolicking in and around Clear Lake, Indiana with her two younger sisters, where her grandparents had a cabin. Her family moved to several states, but she finally landed in Boulder, Colorado where she received an undergraduate degree in Sociology from CU and met and married Wesley James Yordon in 1958. They moved to Cambridge, MA where their first child, Ken was born. The mountains of Sunshine Canyon, above Boulder beckoned to build a house for the additional 3 kids. Then back down to Boulder to raise four children. Judith earned a master’s degree in Social Work from Denver University. The family lived in Bahia Blanca, Argentina and Guadalajara, Mexico where Judith learned Spanish in which she continually progressed. Judith was a school social worker for the Boulder Valley Public Schools from 1974-1995. She had a private practice in counseling and started two small businesses to help people, including recording and publishing life stories—ever interested in the details of people and their lives. Her life-long desire to help and serve her community kept her busy with League of Women Voters, Alcoholics Anonymous where she helped many people attain sobriety; volunteering in childhood education and literacy— “Hoping a contribution could spark their lives forever” and Habitat for Humanity, where she helped build a house in the southern US. Her generosity in helping friends, family and everyday people was well known, she wanted to lend a hand or two, or financially whenever she could. Compassion and empathy led her to try dragging a deer who had been hit by a car, out of the road. She was an avid traveler who experienced all 50 states, at least 22 countries; rafted the Grand Canyon’s Colorado River twice; persisted in skiing, hiking (many Colorado 14’ers), camping, photography and enjoyed sharing in book clubs. She hiked the approximate 900- mile Santa Fe Trail with her friends and younger sister—rattlesnakes and all. Judith never lost her sense of adventure, taking to the skies to receive her Pilot’s License and attempting to climb the 3rd Flatiron in Boulder hoping to overcome a fear of heights. She moved to Salida, Colorado with her best friend, Connie Champion and reveled in the high desert mountains and spending time with close friends. In retirement, she stayed active and helpful, picking up trash as she took her daily walks, pulling and disposing invasive weeds along the Spring Creek Trail, always trying to be of service. On the trails she would often stop and talk to people, inquiring about this and that, admiring their pace, or dog, or clothing choices. She loved music and played the recorder, guitar, and piano; was fond of taking long drives off the beaten path, was interested in history, read historical fiction and many other genres, delighted in poetry, word play and languages. She made quilts and embroidery for her family and loved her pets. Throughout her years, curiosity, interest, a sense of awe and wonder inspired learning. In her final years she was a dedicated puzzle finisher and kept her plants blooming. The neighborhood trail that she walked most days will miss her treads. She often exclaimed her appreciation of the deep blue sky, or the way the light filtered through the clouds, pointing out the critters, plants, flowers, and beauty along the way. Her hearty bursts of laughter brightened many a life. Her upbeat, cheerful spirit lives on! Although dementia claimed her short term-memory, her heart filled the missing time with cherished friendships, relationships and accepting the Now Moments. In Judith’s strive for a more loving humanity, a few lines of a poem she wrote in 2006 may be words for us to carry on:
“Another dream would be with me
If there could only possibly
Be born a force, a spreading flame
To banish hunger, grief, and pain.”
Judith is survived by her sisters, Norma Wolbert, and Jennifer Reglien; her daughters, Cindy Yordon, Janet Wilbanks and Jennifer Yordon; her grandchildren, Jordan and Caily Wilbanks; and her nephews, Scott, and Matt Hart. “In soaring with eagles and dreamers” ... Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Judith joins her former husband, Wesley James Yordon, her son who left too soon, Kenneth Carl Yordon, her long-time companion, Connie Champion, her beloved Yorkie, Dulcie, and many good friends—she spoke of you all often! Aufiderzein dear Judith, mom, sister, aunt, grandmother, friend!
A Celebration of Life will be held at Mount Princeton Hot Springs, in Nathrpop, Colorado, in early summer of 2020, (date to be determined).
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18