Obituary
Judy Anne Crume, 79, of Portales, was born May 15, 1944 in Cortez, CO to the home of Lois Winifred (Freeman) and Bill Arthur Vance, and died on the evening of Oct. 20, 2023. When she was a very young child the family moved to Portales, and Judy attended the Portales schools, graduating in 1962. She went on to attend Eastern New Mexico University where she studied art. It was while attending the university that she met Donald Crume, and they were married July 31, 1965 at the University Baptist Church in Portales. They moved to Santa Fe shortly after their marriage. In 1966, her husband was drafted into the U. S. Navy, and she relocated to CA to be where he was coming home to on leave.
Following Donald’s discharge they moved to Colorado where they lived until 1986, when his company transferred him to VA. In 1988 they returned to CO for a short time before moving to Ashboro, NC. While living there, she was employed at the local Wal Mart, where she developed film. When her husband retired, they returned to Portales to make their home.
Judy was an accomplished artist, working in water colors and making pottery. Judy loved to travel and hunt rocks, and take pictures. Following the death of her husband in late 2021, she and Harold Widener, who had also been widowed earlier that same year, became constant companions, taking numerous trips together, and enjoying life in general.
Judy is survived by a daughter, Casey Reynolds and her companion, Stephen Bertrand of Portales; seven grandchildren, Elliott and Jacob Reynolds, Michael, Samuel and Camryn “Lily” Bertrand, Victor (Jessica) Crume and Joe Crume; two great-grandchildren, Hazel Reynolds and Zaylor Crume; and a sister, Jany Warnica and her companion, Bill Jones of Hewitt, TX. She was preceded in death by both of her parents, a sister, Jill Bukowski who died Aug. 21, 2023, a son, Jason Douglas Crume who died Sept. 11, 2008, and by Donald Crume, her husband of 56 years, who died Nov. 21, 2021.
