December 10, 1945 ~ May 1, 2024
Judy Lynne (Cass) Clardy was born on December 10th, 1945, in San Diego, California to her late parents, June and Lionel Cass. Both parents were employed by aeronautical construction companies providing for a stable upbringing for Judy and her younger brother, Robert.
Growing up, Judy attended school in the San Diego Unified School District whereby as a junior attending Herbert Hoover High School, she met a guy named Bruce Clardy sitting in front of her in English class. There may have been a contrived excuse to tap him on the shoulder for a question, but regardless that was the start of a shared connection that would last many decades.
After graduating high school, they both attended San Diego State University, where Judy majored in Human Development and Family Life. During those college years, Judy became engaged to Bruce, and they were married two days after their commencement from San Diego State. As Mrs. Bruce Clardy, Judy ascended to the role of home manager while also working with pre-schools and the area Head Start program. Throughout their life together, she and Bruce lived in various locations in the western United States, namely California, Alaska, Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma. At each relocation, they sought out churches whose teachings were true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and within these churches, Judy found great joy serving whether in the choir, the nursery, or by hosting youth group gatherings. Judy also deeply loved God’s Word and sought Bible studies to participate in wherever they lived and especially valued her involvement in Community Bible Study.
In her role managing the home, Judy became Mother to three children, Corbin, Kim, and Thad and welcomed in a canine or two along the way. During the elementary school years, she helped with homework, counseled hurt feelings, and generally managed the family flow of activities and all the associated obligations that went with them and the various relocations from state to state. Later, in the high school years, she was the proverbial “soccer mom”, driving kids to and from school, church, and extra-curricular activities. She excelled at mitigating crises, listening actively, encouraging quietly, and giving generously with all that she had. She sought to foster a stable family environment marked by godliness, love, grace, kindness, gentleness and sometimes patience and prioritized making a house feel like a warm and inviting home. Even after the kids would eventually leave the nest, coming back for visits, or extended stays always felt familiar and good, and they always knew that they were in her thoughts and prayers.
Upon retirement, Judy and Bruce decided to relocate to the central Colorado area where they had previously lived twice before. While traveling through Salida, Judy struck up a conversation with a gift shop employee (Esther Wehrman) asking for a recommendation of lodging in the area. This resulted in a hospitable invitation to stay at her home in Trail West near Buena Vista. As the Lord made opportunities available, Judy and Bruce would go on to buy that home sixteen years ago. In most of the eleven years Judy lived there, she and Bruce enjoyed the beauty of Colorado through hiking and jeep trips. She not only enjoyed welcoming family in the summers and holidays, but also made trips to Texas to visit and help care for her two granddaughters, whom she deeply loved. She would once again enjoy serving in choir and the nursery at Mountain Heights Church where she and Bruce would call their church home. Together, they enjoyed the quietness and comparatively slower pace of retired life. Eventually the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease necessitated locating her to a memory and skilled nursing care facility in Colorado Springs where she lived out her final five years of her earthly life.
As we remember and celebrate Judy, she is survived by Bruce, her husband of almost 57 years, her two sons, Corbin and Thad, and daughter, Kim and son-in-law, Eric and her two granddaughters, Ava and Emma. Despite the physical loss, we are comforted in knowing that she has been made new, rejoicing, and singing in heaven, smiling down on us, and ready to welcome us when we finally catch up to her.
A Memorial Service will be held on May 13, 2024 at 11:00 AM at the Mountain Heights Church in Buena Vista, CO.
