Judith Packard

Judith Leman Packard completed her journey on this side of Glory on November 13th, 2021 at the age of 77. The family is grateful her struggle on Earth has ended and she can now rest peacefully in the arms of God. She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Douglas Packard of Clayton, NC; her three sons, Eric of Clayton, NC; Jay of Windsor, CO; and Kirk of Dover, NH; two brothers, Bob and Dick Leman; and one sister, Linda Burgess all from the Denver, CO area. She also leaves behind three daughters-in-law; Karen, Heather, and Janice; who are now solely tasked with keeping her boys in line. She shared a mutual love for travelling and cooking with her husband Doug. While their plans to see and experience new things together were cut tragically short, they were blessed to enjoy their 50th wedding anniversary cruising the Rhine River in Germany enjoying the food, seeing the sights, and spending time with each other. Her six grandchildren; Hunter, Madeline, Noah, Ben, Eli, and Wesley, will all miss her baking, reading, and bottomless purse that could always offer a piece of candy, a mint, or the extra money needed to buy a snack when they went on the many special excursions she loved sharing with them. Her love for gardening, quilting, and reading all came second to the time she could spend with her family, especially the grandchildren. There are also hundreds of ‘her kids’ spread across the country over at least three generations from the public school classrooms where she taught mostly First Grade for 26 years. Loved by colleagues, students, and parents alike, she was a trusted, wise voice and master educator to many, yet she often chuckled at how her silvery, white hair seemed to be the only credential she ever needed to be considered an expert at teaching children. Judy was a faithful member of Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton, NC where she served on countless committees as well as President of their United Methodist Women for a term. While her service to the church was great in so many areas, her real passion was for teaching Sunday school to elementary school kids. There was no doubt she loved Jesus and took it as her mission to let all God’s children know that Jesus loves them. So many others have been graced by her hospitality, generosity, and the bright smile anyone who knew her could easily recognize. She will be fondly and joyfully remembered by all who wish to attend at 2 PM on Saturday, December 4th, 2021 at Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton with visitation following the service until 4 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Horne Memorial’s Building Fund to help purchase the new playground equipment for Horne’s Recreational Annex and Playground. Please make your check payable to Horne Memorial UMC with Judith Packard Memorial Fund in the memo. The address to mail your check is Horne Memorial UMC, PO Box 475, Clayton, NC, 27528. You may also give online by going to horneumc.net and clicking on the “Give” tab then follow the GivePlus prompt near the bottom of the page. The street address for GPS directions is 121 E 2nd St., Clayton, NC, 27520.