Obituary
Judith “Judy” Ann Hengel
Judith “Judy” Ann Hengel passed away on Sunday, May 25 at the age of 65. Her bout with cancer was relatively brief with a swift decline. In her immediate family, she is preceded in death by her only daughter Taryn, and her parents Jean and Ray. She is survived by her son Evan, her three sisters – Sue (George), Nancy (Keller), and Teresa (Raymer) – and her brother Jeff.
Judy had a good life. In her early life in particular, she was social, fun-loving, and enjoyed camping, spending time on the river, and going to rock concerts.
As a mother, Judy was dedicated to her daughter Taryn, who had severe disabilities. After Taryn died, she provided respite care to numerous kids with special needs.
Then along came Evan – a baby with special needs – who most of all needed a mother. Judy adopted Evan as her son.
In this same timeframe, she met Mr. Glen Caseres, and his kids Gitana and Dominic…who all formed a family together.
For some 25 years, Judy dedicated much of her personal life to attending to Evan’s needs. And she dedicated much of her work life to advocating for, and caring for other kids and young people with disabilities. She worked as a special education teaching assistant/paraprofessional.
Judy was surrounded by her siblings and extended family in her final days. The Hengel family would like to express special appreciation to the Caseres family for their support to Judy over the years, and who will continue to be a family to Evan in the future, according to Judy’s hopes and wishes.
Judy, Rest In Peace…
All of Judy’s friends and relatives are invited to attend funeral services at Mary, Mother of the Church (located on 2006 Weston St, La Crosse) on Tuesday, June 3 at 11:00 AM. Following the service, a lunch will be served at the Mirage Sports Bar (located on 3511 Mormon Coulee Rd, La Crosse) for any who would like to attend.
Dear Hengel and Caseres Families: I am sorry for the loss of Judy. She was a loving and devoted mother and wonderful advocate for children with special needs. May she rest in eternal peace. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love, Kristin Gesteland
so sorry to hear about Nancy
my cousin with a special heart 💖. so caring and a wonderful smile
rest in peace 🕊️
Peggy (Hengel) Schelbe
Judy my cousin… made a mistake. so sorry
Peggy Schelbe
I want to extend my sincere condolences to Judy’s family. I have many fun memories from my earlier years with Judy. from going out on the river to parties and fun with our group of friends. just was always so nice and I remember she had a green thumb! I will miss you Judy! but we will see you again someday! love, Gail
Judy, we were the best of friends throughout our childhood. I am blessed with the memories we shared. There were so very very many sleep overs and sneak outs during the summer pup tent sleep overs roaming around the neighborhood. Roller skating, hanging out at K mart and Country Kitchen and the laundromat in the village that Carlson’s owned and at State Road school, just spending time with each other smoking cigarettes, like we were so cool, and learning to like beer. Taking the bus downtown and splitting cab fare for our ride home, always watching out for each other. And just all the other things we did.
Although our lives took different roads after we turned 21, we did stay in touch occasionally, on and off, but then our lives would get busy again. I love you Judy and will miss you always . May you have a peaceful pleasant purple rest. Til we meet again. Love Always, Carla (Grossbach) Easterday
Judy would sit every morning and drink about four cups of coffee around 4 in the morning I would drink only one , she drank me under the table 🙂she would read every morning for About three hours and every morning she wanted a banana the peanut butter and a knife ,she was a peanut butter banana girl, over her last year and four months I grew to love Judy and she loved me ,, she was such a a caring person and I loved taking care of her throughout our relationship, her illness and passing may have seemed quick to some but it wasn’t ,when we met she used a cain and had already been through cancer treatment once ,they put her on keytruda , as she got worse over that year and four months she kept telling me she was gonna get better , but I could see that wasn’t happening after she just kept getting weaker and in more pain , she let me know every time I took her the bathroom that she was in pain ,and it wasn’t getting better , she said she hoped she could die at home and i watched that hope disappear when one morning her pain was too much and we had an ambulance take her and she never came home.😓we would have married finally thats what she wanted , we tried to move away but she has so much stuff and I had no help trying to pack and move, she couldn’t help but she sat and directed me as to what should be packed and where it should be placed for moving or selling, I had it about half done ,the basement was pretty much packed and it was the biggest area and full of stuff but the garage was still completely full of her previous boyfriends belongings, as Judy got worse the moving and finding a new place and selling the house to move slowed and stopped, I couldn’t accomplish everything that had to be done to move and care for Judy at the same time, so we backed out of buying in Illinois and backed out of the sale here , by that time I knew we couldn’t leave i was alone and there was no way I could do it by myself and Judy was just getting worse, I moved in right away with Judy and took over Evans feeding and daily medication needs and driving and housework cooking cleaning , that’s why she wanted me to move in, so I could take care of her I moved in my bird and stayed.I loved every second of life with Judy hengel we were soulmates but brain cancer was changing her during our relationship, she had anger severe memory loss and couldn’t concentrate much at all , she needed me to text for her a lot and she started sleeping all but constantly about six months in, I never thought it would end this way I thought she was coming home , that last month, I was at her side in care every day but save three days till she was gone .thank you Judy for letting me be with you for the last year and four months of your life I’d do it all over again. im so sorry for the loss her family surely feels and I’ll never be the same without Judy, never .
We lived down the block from the Hengel family so many years ago. So sorry to hear about Judy’s passing. Rest in peace.
Condolences to the entire family. Judy was a very sweet person and will be missed.
Judy’s family and my family go back many many years. Our Parents were besties it seems like forever. We went on family vacations, day trips, and picnics galore. Us girls even showed up in the same outfits at times because our Moms were so much alike. In Judy’s later years she was a wonderful Mom to her daughter and son. She had that special knack and patience for working with children with special needs. She was a wonderful advocate for both her children. Rest in Peace Judy !
I have many memories of Judy and I in our young adult years. I Will cherish them. Peace to the family. Love you Judy❤️ Mary Kay
So sorry for your loss I was one of Judy’s co-workers at Aptiv May she rest in peace and I hope you all have started the healing process.
Evan, I’m sorry for your loss. Your mom was always your biggest cheerleader and advocate, as a mother should be. I enjoyed providing care to both of you at the Village over the years. My deepest condolences, Amy Rasmussen
So sorry to hear of Judy’s passing. We just spoke about her coming to Vegas for a visit not too long ago. She has always been in every thought of my childhood memories.