Judith 'Judy' Anne Raessler

Today we celebrate a life similar to many but like no other. One filled with moments of joy, sadness, triumph and defeat. Judy was the first of five children born to Marvin and Lola Christie of Visalia, California. Marv Christie was a man of many talents. In addition to his military service and day jobs as a bookkeeper, employee of the local gas company and employee of the U.S. Postal Service, he was an avid photographer and small farmer. Lola was a homemaker that was heavily involved in the local schools and her church. From her father she inherited a strong work ethic, her creativity, a love of the earth and compassion for man and beast. From her mother she inherited that incredible strength she needed during the hard times, her sense of humor and an aversion to the kitchen. Both instilled in her a responsibility to family and country. She grew up in an ideal setting on a small family farm in the rich San Joaquin Valley surrounded by fruit trees, grapevines and alfalfa fields. Her infatuation with fabric and crafts began at a young age as she and her mother would sit and sew together. As many of you know, this turned into an obsession that has led to the commitment of an entire room in her home to fabric, crafts and quilting. She was the apple of her father’s eye and as a child, the two of them would make frequent trips to town in search of sweet treats and good eats. She met her future husband, Kenneth Raessler, at the age of 15 while attending Parkside Chapel Christian Missionary Alliance Church. She was a Rainbow Girl and he played the church organ. As he was pursuing his medical degree she obtained her LVN. Interestingly enough one of her classmates was her own mother. One of them would use their degree the next 40 years and the other was able to bring a much appreciated skill set to kid’s school events and vacation bible school. Newly married, the couple moved to San Bernardino, CA where she worked long hours at San Bernardino General while Kenneth hit the textbooks. These were the prolific years for her as an artist and several of her oils hang in her house to this day. Six years later she obtained her RN and her first daughter arrived. In order to avoid messy footprints she gave up the oils and redirected her talents towards single handedly sewing every item of clothing for her children. Perhaps an easy task with one child but three kids later she was still going strong producing four of the most smartly dressed little women in town. She unexpectedly became a single mother with four small girls requiring that she re-enter the work force. To the kids delight, Grandma moved in while Judy updated her nurses training in Phoenix. In an effort to provide for her kids she not only worked full time as a nurse but also took on side jobs and sold handmade crafts. In the late 1980’s she began working at Yavapai Regional Medical Center where she met some of her dearest friends. Although these were lean years she kept her head up, wits about her and humor intact. She would spend time teaching her kids how to draw, sew and cook. She even survived training four teenage drivers on a stick shift. In 1986 she accomplished what seemed impossible and paid off her house, bought herself her first new car and took the family to Hawaii. In 1989 she realized a dream and purchased a dilapidated 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air which she had restored. She would spend several years with friends cruising as well as attending car shows. In 1991 she met Valentin Kravchenko, a Ukranian seeking political asylum in the US. This spurned an interest in Russia and the Ukraine that would last well beyond his death in 2000 and included 3 trips to the region, countless shipments of money and goods to those in need in those countries as well as her baptism into the Orthodox Church. Since then she has been actively involved with St. George Orthodox Church participating in many fundraising events. In addition to being actively involved in her church, she and her friends – you know who you are – spent many days off work in and out of Prescott attending estate sales and collecting even more fabric and crafts. Her life reached another crossroads in the winter of 2010 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although the diagnosis was a blow it did allow her to retire and spend time doing the things she loved most: spending time with her grandchildren and quilting with her dear friends Margaret and Renata. While we are sad to lose her so soon we are better off for having known her. When I was young you held my hand and helped me through the maze, Now it is I who hold your hand on these your final days.