Judith Ellen Bruechert

September 16, 1939 - February 12, 2025

Judy Bruechert was born in Rock Valley, Iowa to Don and Tressa Van Sloten. The family moved to southern California early in her childhood, where she was joined by 3 siblings, Andi Bos,

Bonnie and Don. Her family life centered around school, sports, the diner and catering business.

She attended Bellflower Christian High School, where she met and fell in love with Henry “Hank”

Bouma and they married in 1956. They spent 29 years together in La Palma and Chino,

California dairy farming and raising their kids, Bradley (Barbara), Michelle “Shelley” (Don) and Peter (Dana). Their lives were filled with fun, travel - often with their Clear Lake group, deep friendships,and church involvement. Judy took a leap of faith and decided to go to college as a mom. She received her B.A. in psychology from Cal State Fullerton and her Masters in Social Work (clinical) from USC. She worked as a licensed therapist for many years, as she cared deeply about people and had a passion for helping them navigate life’s difficult situations.

Hank passed away unexpectedly in 1985, and while those years were hard, Judy later met Bob Bruechert through church. It wasn't long before they knew it was a lasting love and were married in 1989, making them forever a house divided: UCLA vs. USC! Their life together was marked by their love for the Lord and involvement at EV Free Fullerton, tennis, travel, and family. Bob and Judy recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary. Through this marriage, Judy gained two great step sons - Todd (Mary) and Chad (Melanie).

Judy loved books, her roses, her job, the beach or an afternoon shopping with friends, and her grandchildren. She loved spending time with her family and eagerly shared their accomplishments with friends. Judy and Bob’s love for the Lord is a legacy that lives on through many generations and was modeled throughout their lives.

Judy was no stranger to suffering and had a long battle with arthritic pain and mobility issues, which she managed with grace and perseverance. Bob lovingly supported her and they’ve been a true example of the Lord’s joy and peaceful presence, even in the midst of pain. On February 12th, she peacefully passed away and met the Lord in glory.

Judy will be missed by her children: Brad (Barb) Bouma, Shelley Schuurman and Peter (Dana)

Bouma, her grandchildren: Brandon (Stephanie) Bouma, Breanne (Jarred) Minefee, Brent (JuLea) Bouma, Nate Schuurman, Jason Schuurman, Grant (Kenzie) Bouma, Isabella Bouma, Gwyneth Bouma and Hayden Kuchta (Kathryn) and 16 great-grandchildren.

She’ll also be missed by her beloved husband, Bob Bruechert and his children: Todd (Mary) Bruechert and Chad (Mel) Bruechert and grandchildren: Lucy, Harrison, Charlie and Daniella, her sister Andi Bos as well as many other beloved nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.

Judy is preceded in death by her first husband, Hank Bouma, her son-in-law Don Schuurman, her siblings Bonnie and Don Van Sloten, her parents and other family and friends.

A Celebration of Judy’s life will be held at Fullerton Free (EV Free)

SERVICE WILL BE HELD IN THE CHAPEL

2810 Brea Blvd, Fullerton, Ca 92835,

on Friday, March 21 at 2:00pm

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of these charities Judy loved:

Bakersfield Angels - Helping at risk foster kids build local relationships:

https://bakersfieldangels.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate-now

24/7 Ministry - Reaching Orange County at risk/foster youth with the love of Jesus: https://subsplash.com/u/-2S5MH8/give/c/27f9d933-4875-498d-adc5-15eb75bf43d5

We have set up the JBB Scholarship Fund to pay tuition for a young mother to go to college/grad school. If you’d like to donate to the scholarship, please put JBB Scholarship in the memo and send a check to:

D14:28 Foundation

PO Box 1659

Plainview, TX 79073

Here below is the link to Judith Ellen (Bouma) Bruechert’s livestream event on

Friday 3-21–25 at 2:00PM/PST.

The livestream will begin 15 minutes prior to 2:00PM so that viewers can have time to get hooked up to the link. The broadcast is scheduled for 2.5 hours but that is just to give plenty of time for the time slot reservation.

https://boxcast.tv/view/judith-ellen-bouma-bruechert-ytskw6op82j6ccvyoloh

Viewers can simply click on the link and it will open their browser and take them to the broadcast or they can copy and paste the link into their browser.

The video will be archived on the same link above for about 1 month so people can view at a later date and time.