Judy Junkroski, beloved mother and friend to so many, passed away on May 6, 2013 after a long battle with a rare cancer and amyloidosis.

Born in Moline, IL on March 7, 1941, Judy loved cooking and baking from an early age. After majoring in Theater at Drake University, she opted to forego her future Oscar™ and start a family. She married and had three boys, but her gifts in the kitchen quickly expanded her family. Throughout the United States and into Europe, Judy's food (especially her homemade pizza) brought dozens of kids and adults to the dinner table on a regular basis.

The food was often just an excuse for people to get access to one of the most sympathetic and maternal ears ever put on Earth. Judy could help anyone who came into her circle feel better about the things that were on their minds because she had an innate ability to balance what you wanted to hear with what you needed to hear. She was a model of love, peace and acceptance for everyone that knew her, and she made everyone who came into contact with her a better person.

Judy was preceded in death by her husband Thomas in 1999; and her sister, Susan Landow in March of this year.