COLUMBUS
She did it! Judy Ann Lifferth, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend to many, completed her ‘Journey of Faith’ in this life and died peacefully in her sleep early Monday morning, 26 March 2018 at home in Columbus, Indiana at the age of 67.
Daughter of Gerald and Martha (Hansen) Browning, Judy was born in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, 27 September 1950.
She married Ernest K. Lifferth on Thursday, 12 August 1971, in the Salt Lake Temple, Utah. Judy was raised in St. Maries, Idaho and graduated from high school there.
She attended Brigham Young University, working on an Associate Degree in Child Development and Family Relations.
Her marriage to Ernest took her from Provo, Utah to Waterloo, Iowa, and then on to Columbus, Indiana. She gave birth to and raised five children and served with devotion in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Judy lived a life of service, kindness and pure love to all she met.
She was hampered for over 42 years of her life with Multiple Sclerosis and other health challenges and just recently with cancer; but that did not deter her from serving in a multiplicity of ways to show her love for people.
She was the champion of champions to the down trodden, the rescuer of the sad and lonely, the friend of the friendless and the advocate of the less fortunate. She lifted people that others had forgotten or abandoned.
People were warmed by her smile. She will be remembered by people in all walks of life.
For 29 years, Judy coordinated ‘National Family Week’ in Columbus each November, recognizing families that have overcome obstacles with grace and dignity. For over twelve years she facilitated an ‘Off Drug Support Group’ (ODSG) that meets at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. She was heavily involved in strengthening the family unit and facilitating a ‘Better Parenting’ course for several years.
Though wheelchair bound for over twelve years, it never diminished her drive to be of service and to put the needs of others above her own.
Judy was a faithful and active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Throughout her life she served with love and devotion, striving to emulate the teachings of Jesus Christ. Her smile brought warmth and pure love to the young and old. She served faithfully in every Church calling she received. She particularly enjoyed meeting with members throughout the area in different congregations, showering them with love, traveling with her husband in his Church callings.
Judy is survived by her husband of almost 47 years; her siblings Gary and Joan Browning of Provo, UT and Jeanie and Leo Ekins of St. George, UT; her children Shawn and Tonia Lifferth of Umatilla, OR; Peter and ShaRee Yorgesen of Mattawa, WA; Austin and Erin Lifferth of Oxford, FL; August and Kate Lifferth of Indianapolis, IN; and William and Michelline Hokanson of Wasilla, AK.
Judy is survived by 20 grandchildren: Hannah, Colby and Gabby Lifferth of Pendleton, OR; Jens and Luci Yorgesen of Rexburg, ID; Clarissa and Isabella Yorgesen of Mattawa, WA; Dain Yorgesen of Provo, UT (missionary going to Hermosillo, Mexico); Meghan, Abigail, Bryce and Vance Lifferth of Oxford, FL; Lincoln, Lukas and Lenna Lifferth of Indianapolis, IN; Jonah, Londyn, Brick, Henry, Eli and Elsie Hokanson of Wasilla, AK. She has one great-granddaughter: Teagan Lifferth of Pendleton, OR, and another granddaughter due in May.
A viewing will be held on Thursday, 29 March 2018 at the Barkes, Weaver and Glick Funeral Home, 1029 Washington Street, Columbus, from 4:00 – 8:00 PM. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, 30 March 2018 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse 4850 Goeller Boulevard, Columbus, with Bishop Jesse Shoaf officiating. A viewing will be from 10:00 – 10:45 AM at the meetinghouse. Burial will be at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on Terrace Lake Road.
Condolences, comments and stories can be shared online at barkesweaverglick.com. or on Facebook at ‘Judy’s Journey of Faith’. Contributions can be made to Our Hospice of South Central Indiana or to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
