Judie Marie Smith

Judie Marie Smith went home to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus on October 21, 2015. She was born July 11, 1942 and was 73 years old. She lived in Cypress, California for over 48 years. She is survived by her loving husband of over 53 years, Donald Harris Smith. She has three sons, Gregory, Bryant, and David; daughter in laws Karin, Tonya, and Linda; four granddaughters, Amanda, Audra, Alicia, and Kona, and a grandson Tanner. She is also survived by her brother Kent and numerous family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Clayton and Edna Skellenger.

Judie was a loving sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She gave her life to Jesus as a child and faithfully loved and served Him throughout her life. She always prayed, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” She worked as a registrar at Cypress High School for many years. She loved spending her vacations in her mountain home, 8,000 feet high, outside of Durango, Colorado.

The memorial service will be at Westminster Memorial Park on Thursday, October 29, at 12 noon. She will later be laid to rest at the Riverside National Cemetery.

The joy of the Lord was her strength.

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Commemoration of a Life

Judie Marie Skellenger was born July 11, 7/11, 1942. It was during the time of great fear for my grandparents as air raid drills were being conducted in Long Beach in preparation for a Japanese bombing. My grandfather was not too excited about having a daughter. He told the doctor, “Take her back – that wasn’t what he had ordered!” Grandpa later said, “I wanted a son, but it didn’t take her long to change my mind!”

Three months later, Grandpa enlisted in the Navy. He was sent to Norman, Oklahoma. On the way there they had 5 tires blowout. Tires were being rationed and they no longer had a spare. They began to walk the last mile to town, carrying Mom and all of her clothes. Fortunately a Navy bus soon came by and picked them up. After her brother Kent was born, the Skellengers were called, “the red-headed family.” After World War II ended, they moved back to Long Beach.

In 1949, my grandparents both gave their life to Jesus Christ after a church service at Wrigley Heights Baptist Church. A few years later, when Mom was 11 years old, she also became a Christian. She graduated from Brethren High School in Paramount in 1960, surrounded by dairy cows. When I graduated from the same school, the cows had been replaced by gangs.

Mom began working at the Teamsters Union with Grandma. She then took the post office exam and received the highest grade of any woman taking it. She worked there a short time and then decided she would rather work at the Social Security office where she was employed until 1964.

Meanwhile, she met my dad at the First Brethren Church of Long Beach and were married on August 3, 1962. Someone told Grandma that it was the prettiest wedding ever held at the church. They rented an apartment for 8 months and then moved into their first home in Long Beach. Greg was born in 1965. They then moved to their current home in Cypress and Bryant was born in 1967 and David in 1968.

When Bryant was born, he was profoundly deaf, but this was not discovered until he was 20 months old. By this time, David was 3 months old and was tested over the next 9 months before he too was found to be profoundly deaf. Mom and Dad were introduced to Total Communication, where deaf children were taught to sign, lip read, and speak. They began taking classes to learn sign language. Hours were spent teaching Bryant and David speech and how to communicate with sign language and reading lips and learning to say words they would never hear themselves. We began learning a brand new culture that would result in gaining wonderful friends.

Mom was the expert signer. She became the interpreter for the Sunday morning and evening church services. She became the Sunday School teacher for my brothers until wonderful people like Peggy Ballard and many others stepped in. Meanwhile, Mom was busy with so many other activities. She typed draft after draft for my Dad’s doctoral dissertation. She went to college and got her A.A. degree. She became an assistant nurse at Dale and Walker Jr. High school and later became the registrar at Cypress High School. She was involved in the Christian Bible studies at Cypress High School and became one of the sponsors. All this time, she was somehow a stay-at-home mom, always there when we were at home. She helped us with our homework, cooked every meal, ran the household, paid the bills, and loved us, always with a smile on her face. I do not remember a time when she ever said an angry word. The joy of the Lord was her strength.

Mom loved Colorado. She would have moved to Durango if her family went also. Every summer Mom and Dad would go to their cabin 8,000 feet high in the Rocky Mountains. After retiring, they would spend months there instead of weeks. They always opened their home to friends. They loved their churches there in Durango, Bayfield, and Ignacio and all their Colorado friends. When they finally sold the cabin, they left part of their soul there in the mountains.

Mom loved her daughter-in laws, Karin, Tonya, and Linda. Her granddaughters Amanda, Audra, Alicia, and Kona and then Tanner were her great loves. She cannot wait to see you again in heaven.

She and my dad were married over 53 years. We always expected her to be around but God had other plans. And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God.

Mom was always busy, always running around. She was the perfect caregiver to my dad. She took him to his doctor visits and managed all of his prescriptions. She wrapped all of his wounds and stopped the bleeding from his thin skin with love in her heart. Her favorite TV shows were Little House on the Prairie and 24, two very different kinds of genre. She was an expert cook and especially a wonderful pie maker, having been taught by Helen Sundstrom. She loved going to the Tea Party meetings and loved her country. She even got her Amateur Radio license, N6ODJ, answering 86% of the questions correctly. She loved Brethren High School and all her friends from church and the neighborhood and the Bible studies and all over. She would do anything for anybody. She loved the gospel hymns. She would always come to hear me preach and wanted others to hear the Word of God. And the one thing that she loved the most was Jesus. She always wanted people to hear the gospel so that they would believe and then be with her in heaven forever. This was my Mom and I loved her so much. And I know all of you did too.

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Prelude

Welcome

On behalf of my Dad, my brothers, and all of our family here, I just want to thank you all for coming here today as we celebrate the life of my mom. Thank you for being with us through this very difficult time. We have never experienced grief like this. And at the same time we have been overwhelmed by the love and care and concern from all of you. It just blows us away.

We are getting through this time because we can cry and laugh with all of you as we share such wonderful thoughts and memories about my Mom. She would be so thankful and in awe if she could see how many of you came here today to honor her.

Along with your love and support, our family is getting through this time because we know that we will see her again in heaven. It may seem like it will be a long time away but in light of eternity, we know that it will be just a short time.

The Apostle John wrote in chapter 11 of his gospel about a time Jesus visited Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died, when He came and wept at his funeral and brought them comfort. I would like to read that now.

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Opening Prayer (Pastor Scott Bashoor)

How Great Thou Art (Verses 1, 3, 4)

Commemoration of a Life

Open Share – Remembrances of Judie

Video Tribute

Because He Lives (Verses 1-3)

Message

When We All Get to Heaven (Verses 1, 3, 4)

Benediction

MESSAGE

My mom loved all of you and especially her family. But she loved Jesus even more. As I read earlier, my mom put her faith in Christ when she was 11 years old, shortly after her parents became Christians. She knew she was a sinner, that she had done wrong things, even at that age, and believed that Jesus took her sins away forever when He died upon the cross at Calvary and rose three days later.

My mom loved going to church and worshipping the Lord together with others. She believed in the promises of the Bible. One of her favorite promises was that Jesus would come again. She thought Jesus would return before she died to take her home to heaven and she looked forward to His coming. Each time my mom prayed, part of her prayer would be, “Come quickly Lord Jesus.”

God knows how difficult death can be, even for a Christian. God gave the Apostle Paul the words to write in the book of I Thessalonians and I would like to read a portion of those words, words that are also printed on the back page of the program. He wrote, in chapter 4, verses 16 through 18,

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud commanding cry, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

18 Therefore encourage and comfort one another with these words.

The Apostle Paul tells us that we can be encouraged and comforted with these words. He tells us that there is life after death. We do not just fade away. We do not deteriorate inside of a casket buried in the ground. Our soul and spirit continue on. My mom is not in that box.

We can have this life. Greater life than what we have now! There is eternal life, in heaven as exalted children of God, being made greater than the angels. We are children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

I have tried to imagine what happened, what the moments were like, just after my mom died. Jesus told the story about the rich man and Lazarus in the gospel of Luke, that when Lazarus died, he was taken to Paradise by angels. I am thankful that my mother died in peace in her sleep, but can you imagine though the awakening that she experienced traveling through space on the arms of the angels, I am sure faster than any warp speed (I think the fastest Captain Kirk and Spock ever went was just under Warp 10). She sped through the universe to be instantly in the presence of the Lord Jesus in heaven. I can only imagine how my mom must have then fallen down at the feet of Jesus and worshipped Him. You see, as Christians, when we are absent from this human body, the Apostle Paul tells us that we can be confident, that we are present with the Lord (II Corinthians 5:8). I can see Jesus coming to her there in heaven, embracing her, and saying, “Welcome home, my daughter. I love you so much.”

I am sure she was greeted next by her parents, Clayton and Edna, and her grandmother Fuchsia, and by all her family and friends who knew the Lord. It must have been quite a reunion. After this, she may have gone to find the Apostles and Prophets. She looked for Daniel and David, Abraham and Sarah, and Moses. She is exploring heaven and learning even more about her Savior.

So, as much as our family and I miss my mom, I would never want her to come back. How can you leave heaven? I know that at the same time she misses us and eagerly longs to see all of us again. And we will see her again.

First of all, Paul addresses the Christians who have died. Someday Jesus will return to this earth. The Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus “will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” My mother and all who have died, knowing Christ and being with Christ right now, will rise and receive at that time of Christ’s return, a brand new body, a body like Jesus had when He arose from the dead. This has to be the most amazing body ever! No more aches and pains, no limping around. Certainly no more doctor visits! Instead, we will be appearing and disappearing, even flying, fortunately still eating. The Bible only gives us tiny descriptions of what heaven will be like. You will have to go there to find out everything.

Paul then described what happens to those of us who are still alive, who have not died when Jesus returns. He says, “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord.” At that time we who are still alive, those who believe that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, who have turned from their sins, we will fly! We will meet the Lord face to face. And we will see Judie, our wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. We will be together again. And this is what comforts us, comforts all of us in this time of grief.

I would like to speak to you on my mom’s behalf. It would be my mother’s greatest desire for each of you

- to know Christ

- to have accepted Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior

- to be ready when you die and stand before God and He asks you why He should let you into heaven, that you can say that I have put my faith, my hope, my all in Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sins.

- And it is her desire to be reunited together in heaven. United together because of Jesus. Dad, you will see Mom again! I trust many of us here will see Mom again because of what Christ has done for us!

Let me ask each of you here today. Do you know Jesus? Is He your Lord and your Savior? Perhaps you would like to invite Him into your heart today, on this special day.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, thank you for your promise of life after death. Thank you Father that there is hope when this life is over that we will be with you. I thank you Lord that mom is in heaven right now with you. Lord, I pray that if there might be somebody here today that might want to know You, to join the faith, I pray that if there is anyone here today that wants to turn their life over to you, that they would just simply say in their heart, come into my life, Lord Jesus. I turn away from my sins. Please forgive me of my sins. Thank you for dying on the cross for me and promising me that when I die, I will have a place with you forever. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Come quickly Lord Jesus.

When We All Get to Heaven (Verses 1, 3, 4)

Benediction / Prayer – Pastor Scott

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