Judith Kruse

Judith Kay Kruse, age 74, passed away peacefully on November 11, 2022 after battling ALS.
She was born on December 28, 1947 in Newton, Kansas to Willis and Lucille Andres.

Judy grew up on a wheat farm just outside Newton, and loved to regale her family with tales of
her adventures on the farm with her sisters, Janice and Jane. She attended Kansas State
University, where she earned an Associates degree in horticulture and met her future husband,
Alan Kruse. They married in 1968 and moved to Colorado in 1973, where they raised their four
children. Judy was a talented seamstress, home-maker and dedicated super-mom who loved
to take her family on camping and skiing trips in the Rocky Mountains.

After a divorce in 1987, Judy’s love of airplanes drew her to the aviation industry, where she
entered the workforce in the aircraft maintenance sector at Colorado AeroTech. In 1990, she
moved her family to Phoenix, Arizona, where she lived for 9 years. Many career advances later,
and a with a move to San Francisco, California, she was managing aircraft sales for Bank of
America in their leasing division. She would happily tell us exactly what kind of plane was in the
sky with a single glance.

She was an adventurous and wise soul who loved to travel, camp under the stars, explore the
desert, and spend time at the beach, always with family and friends surrounding her. She was
extraordinary in the friendships she made and nurtured. As a grandmother she was infinitely
patient, playful, and loving.

She was diagnosed with ALS in February 2022, after experiencing symptoms which began in
the summer of 2021. She continually had a positive attitude and sense of humor in the face of
the brutal disease that is ALS.

Judy is survived by her four children, Camille Schneider (Peter), Angela Kruse, Allison White
(David), and Jesse Kruse (Sana); and five grandchildren, Ashley and Aubrey Schneider, and
Isabella, Evelyn, and Aiden White, whom she loved more than anything. She is also survived by
her sister, Jane Powers.

There will be a private ceremony to scatter her ashes in the places she loved. Donations “in
memory” may be made to the ALS Association at als.org or By the Bay Health (hospice) at
bythebayhealth.org