Judith “Judy” Reneker Burd of Winona Lake, Indiana went home to be with her Lord at 12:02 p.m. on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at Paddock Springs Assisted Living in Warsaw, Indiana at the age of 85.
She was born on August 6, 1938, in Oak Park, Illinois. Judy was one of two children born to Ruth (Peterson) Todd and Adam Robert Todd. At the young age of 19, Judy married the love of her life William “Bill” C. Reneker on May 24, 1958, in Oak Park, Illinois. They moved to Warsaw, Indiana in 1966 and shared 35 years of marriage together before Bill passed away on December 31, 1993. Judy was blessed to have met someone special later in her life and on January 1, 2006, she married Reverend William F. Burd. They shared seven years together before Bill passed away on December 5, 2013.
When Judy moved to Kosciusko County, Indiana with her first husband, she worked for almost 20 years as an administrator for the Free Methodist Printing Company. She and Bill led Marriage Encounter conferences for many years throughout the States. She also had the distinction of being the first woman chairperson for the United Way and established the Bill Reneker Service Award for Winona Lake, given to the person most deserving of outstanding community service to the Winona Lake Community.
Judy always had a love of music and enjoyed attending symphony orchestra concerts and was a huge supporter of the MasterWorks Festival. She attended nearly every MasterWorks performance, and her glowing enthusiasm for the Festival spilled over into the care and nurturing of faculty members, staff, interns, and students. Her home became a haven of refreshment, love, mentorship, and acceptance for them all. She left a profound mark on countless members of the MasterWorks community, and we are forever grateful.
Judy loved serving her Lord and was very involved in her church home at Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Where she was the founder of the grief group W.O.W… Winning Over Widowhood, a mentor for MOPS, as well as investing and mentoring young people her entire life. No matter what she was involved in within the community, what mattered to her was that she was able to share the light of Jesus and always strived to be a dedicated servant of the Lord. Judy dearly loved her family and enjoyed spending as much time with them as she could. In 2006 she took her family to a dude ranch and to this day they all still talk about that experience. Her greatest achievement was her children and grandchildren and the life lesson that she passed on to her family was simply “Do the best that you can!” Judy was a strong, beautiful soul who spent her time on this earth loving people in a great way and honoring her Lord and Savior in everything that she did.
