Judith A. Spinney

Judith Russell Spinney, age 84, of Littleton, Colorado, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 26, 2026, surrounded by loving family.

Judith was born on August 9, 1941, to Eldon H. and Julia M. Russell. She was born in La Junta, Colorado, and grew up on the family farm near Rocky Ford, Colorado. She had a unique heritage and credits this with much of her value system through life.

For eighteen years she adapted to the world around her. The family had no well. Water was delivered periodically to a cistern outside by the house. It was pumped into the home by a small hand pump in the kitchen. There was no heat in the bedrooms. A small propane heater provided heat to the living room. Sometimes a basket of newborn pigs might be in front of this heater if they had been born in a spring snowstorm and needed a boost. A wood stove in the kitchen was used daily in the winter. She knew well the pathway to the outhouse, out beyond the mulberry trees.

Judy shared chores and this lifestyle with two brothers and a sister: Bruce, Donna, and Norman. She gathered eggs, milked cows, hoed corn fields, irrigated and cultivated the fields, herded cattle, fixed fence, stacked hay, plucked chickens, and branded cattle. She attended school in Rocky Ford and graduated from Rocky Ford High School in 1959. As a Rocky Ford graduate, she was proud to be a Meloneer.

During her junior year of high school, she contracted rheumatic fever which led to many challenges in her adult life. She had a mechanical mitral valve put in at the age of 47, and an aortic valve was put in 2016. She, however, often said, “Perhaps I could never be a competitor, but I could always be a participator.” She played tennis, hiked, skied until she was 75, and rode her bike from Vail Pass into Vail at 84. She learned the names of flies and fished with Bruce on the Colorado streams. Her involvement with 4 grandchildren was important to her. They often took the kids on camping trips. The memory trip of a lifetime was spending a month in Lucca, Italy, with the family. The grandkids stayed 10 extra days and flew home with Bruce and Judy.

In the fall of 1959, she became a freshman at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and graduated in June of 1963 with a degree in English. She, and her soon-to-be husband, Bruce, graduated on a Friday night and were married on Saturday at the Danforth Chapel on the CSU campus. They began married life in Broomfield, Colorado, which was their home for the next 30+ years. For 3 years, she taught at Northglenn Junior High. During the following years, she had a son, Russell (Rusty) Bevier and a daughter, Leslie Dee Anne. She also attended the University of Colorado in Boulder and acquired a master’s degree as a media specialist at this time. When she returned to work, she was the school librarian at Clear Lake Middle School in Westminster.

When Bruce and Judy retired in 1996, they worked for a year on a planning team for a new international school in Bangkok, Thailand. When they returned to Colorado, they rented a place in Breckenridge, Colorado, and eventually built a home there. Bruce became a fly-fishing guide, and Judy worked in the county library system. Breckenridge became home for 15 to 20 years, before their move to Ken Caryl Valley in Littleton, Colorado.

Judy was a member of the FO chapter of PEO in Broomfield. She liked to read and play competitive duplicate bridge, often attending tournaments. She and Bruce traveled extensively. As they grew older, they rented apartments for a month at a time using them as a home base for their travels.

She leaves behind a legacy of love and cherished memories in the hearts of her devoted family. She is survived by her beloved husband of 63 years, Bruce; her loving children, Russell (Shannon) Spinney and Leslie (David) Reed. Her spirit will live on through her adoring grandchildren, Kerek, Elly, Rachael, and Caroline, who brought immense joy to her life. She is also survived by her siblings, Bruce Russell, Donna Conger, and Norman (Carol) Russell, and many nieces and nephews.

Judy’s family invites you to a Celebration of Life on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 10:30 am. We will gather at the Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms in Littleton, CO to share our favorite memories and honor her spirit.