header 1
header 2
header 3

In Memory

Judith Restagno (Klanderman)

Please join us in celebrating the life of Judith Lynne Restagno on Saturday May 23rd  at Lewis Funeral Home located at 78E Main Street in Moorestown NJ 08057.  Doors for Memorial will open at 1PM with services starting at 2PM followed by a brunch reception. 

 

Judy’s tribute page is located at http://www.lewisfuneralhomemoorestown.com/obituaries/Judith-Restagno/. Rather than sending flowers please consider making a donation to either CASA (http://www.casaofnj.org/donate/honor-memorial-donations.aspx) or American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org/index).

 
go to bottom 
  Post Comment

05/17/15 02:12 PM #1    

Arlene Gerstel (Clay)

Judy and I became friends, along with a few other girls -- Faith Cook, Kaye Smith, Sylvia Cato, Carol Rambo, Peggy Magnusson -- during our years at Matteson Public School.  I would spend a lot of time with Judy at their beautiful home in Olympia Fields where her parents were always so welcoming, and I felt right at home.

Once we went to high school, our activities changed and we saw less of each other.  Judy's focus was to go on to college, and mine was to get married (not too smart!  Ha ha!).  Judy was my maid of honor shortly after we all graduated from high school.  I visited her at U of W and met her husband to be, Bill Klanderman.  Once they had their wedding plans in order, I was so happy to be asked to be in her wedding (just 10 weeks after my first son was born).  As the years rolled by, we stayed in touch, had a few visits (she and Bill moved to New Jersey right after their wedding).  Although I never actually met her two sons, Eric and Greg, we stayed connected through Christmas cards/pictures/letters and phone calls, and I feel like I actually watched them grow up.  Judy and Bill eventually divorced after the boys were grown, and I believe this is when Judy went to law school and became a lawyer.

I haven't seen Judy in probably 20 years, but I have always felt that she was one of my best friends growing up.  Maybe it was because we helped each other get through the sometimes confusing and often frustrating pre-teen and teenage years!  Our communication in the past 10 years had been non-existent until I learned of her lung cancer.  A few calls were made, but probably not as many as should have been!  Shame on me!

 Judy was a great part of my early life, and I am so saddened by her death.  As most of us enter a new decade of birthdays  this year (ugh!), we will be reminded more frequently of our friends from the past when we hear news of their passing.  I am just thankful that my most valued memory of Judy is that she was my friend.


05/17/15 09:56 PM #2    

Dean Osterling

Well stated, Arlene!


05/18/15 07:45 AM #3    

Joan Dutt (Crocker)

A lovely memory- thanks for sharing!


05/18/15 12:54 PM #4    

Peggy Magnusson

I remember Judy as elegant and gracious and always well dressed.  Cannot recall ever hearing an unkind comment from her.  We met in Junior High at Matteson where we were fortunate to connect with a tight group of girlfriends.  After Rich East, Kaye, Judy and I, were coeds together at Univ. of Wisconsin.   I left U of W before graduation (yes, following my husband-to-be) and  lost contact with Judy.  So very sorry that we have lost Judy before we had the chance to connect again.  


05/18/15 04:01 PM #5    

Kaye Smith (Stewart)

 
Judith Lynne-----would always be followed by....yes, Kaye Ellen? I can still hear her voice responding to mine and it has been 50 some years since those college years. I think we had the most time and the most fun together in my two years at Wisconsin even though we were HS peers as well!

Judy and Bill were dating then and the three of us would make the beer party rounds on campus every Friday afternoon----I was always a short hitter and Judy and Bill would guide me home early and then go on to enjoy their evening!

That's only one of the kindness happenings I got from her----she was organized and diligent, a voracious knitter (if one can use that adjective with knitting?) and lots of fun----alway smiling and a great roommate! Judy had a multitude of friends and was loyal to those of us fortunate to be in her circle.

05/19/15 09:21 PM #6    

Faith Cook (Clark)

When I look at the picture of Judy on the Funeral Home page, a picture that is many years after the last time I saw her, it’s almost as if she is ready to speak to me, today, with what was her joyful wit, sweet teasing, and always her kindness. Then the memories come flooding back along with some tears. Arlene exquisitely articulated Judy’s personality and elegance and friendship and also the times at Matteson.  Thank you, Arlene.

I spent time with Judy at her family’s Olympia Fields home, with her mother, father and sister, Joanne. Judy and I, while in high school, also worked one summer for her father, Guido, in his refrigeration company. We tried our hardest -- I think -- to be decent employees, but I most remember the laughter and some crazy little stunts. I see the laughter in Judy’s face! Judy was a friend who I looked up to. One early instance of this is when I learned, at 12 years old, that she sewed many of her clothes, and I ran home to my mother and told her she would have to teach me to sew: “If Judy could do it, so could I”.  We know that ain’t necessarily so, and it’s why my memories of the friendship that we shared reign with the best of them.

Judy and I went on to other places and other lives after high school and we were only in touch for a few years. I think most of us too often question the “what-would-have-happened” when we look at the years that have passed and when special people are no longer in this world. But what is truly rewarding is that we can cherish what happened, what we learned and shared (I still sew) and to know, in our hearts, that we had loving friendships in those otherwise clueless days. I miss Judy.


05/19/15 09:51 PM #7    

Arlene Gerstel (Clay)

I just LOVE what Peggy, Kaye and Faith have shared about Judy!  So many memories have revisited our aging minds, and I know Judy would also love that they've been shared!!  In her passing, I think we've all been able to smile at the great things we remembered in our relationship with this very special person.


06/09/15 01:51 PM #8    

Robert Witanowski

Judith Lynne Restagno of Mt. Laurel, NJ passed away on Thursday April 23rd 2015 in

Reading, Massachusetts after a strong fight against lung cancer. Judy lived her adult life in Moorestown and Mt. Laurel, NJ, but spent her final months near her children in Massachusetts.

Judy was born on August 17th 1945 in Chicago, Illinois to parents Guido F. and Mary Ann Ramm Restagno. In her early years, Judy and her family, now including younger sister JoAnn, moved to Olympia Fields, Illinois where she finished grade school and graduated from Rich East High School in 1963.

Judy attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison where she majored in speech therapy. She was an active member of her sorority, Alpha Phi, and met her future husband, Bill Klanderman, while performing in “Humorology”, a UW charity. Bill and Judy were married at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois on July 9, 1966. Judy was only two semesters short of her degree and intended to finish her degree on the east coast when she chose to move to the Philadelphia area with Bill as he began his career.

When Judy arrived on the east coast she had the opportunity to follow her desire to become a teacher and taught first and second grade in Marlton and Bordentown, New Jersey for three years. Judy then decided to take some time off and start a family; son Greg was born in 1970 and Eric in 1974. Judy and Bill settled in Moorestown, NJ where they raised their children. In addition to being a loving and involved mother, Judy had many hobbies including tennis, needle point, gardening and antiquing. Judy’s eye for design and detail were evident in the care and decor of both her yard and home.

As Judy’s children grew, she became more involved in community activism and spent much of her time with CAREZ (Citizen’s Advocating for Responsible and Equitable Zoning), a volunteer non-profit organization she created. Judy was passionate and worked tirelessly to save wetlands from being developed in Moorestown along the Route 38 corridor between Marter Ave and Moorestown/Mt Laurel Rd.

Judy’s passion and activism lead her to finishing college, and then attending and graduating from Rutgers Law on May 21st 1992. Judy really found her passion as a lawyer working for DYFS, The Division of Youth and Family Services of NJ. Judy felt as though this was her calling and truly loved advocating for underrepresented children. After Judy retired in 2007, she continued to volunteer through CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates of NJ) until her diagnosis of small cell carcinoma of the lung (Stage 4) in early 2014.

Judy is survived by two sons; Greg Klanderman and his wife Barbara of North Andover, MA, Eric Klanderman and his wife Andrea of Longmeadow, MA; four grandchildren; Amy and Andrew Klanderman of North Andover, MA, Jacob and Sophia Klanderman of Longmeadow, MA, sister JoAnn Kulaski, niece Michelle Kulaski, nephew Mike Kulaski, her beloved miniature schnauzer Oliver, as well as several extended family members and countless friends.

The family would like to thank Virtua Hospital System in Southern NJ, Mercy Hospital and Mercy Hospice in Springfield, MA, East Village Place in East Longmeadow, MA, and Sawtelle Family Hospice in Reading, MA for their love and care of Judy.

Services for Judy will be at Lewis Funeral Home located at 78E Main Street in Moorestown NJ 08057. Doors for Memorial will open at 1PM with services starting at 2PM. Judy’s tribute page is located at http://www.lewisfuneralhomemoorestown.com/obituaries/Judith-Restagno/. In Lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to American Cancer Society.

(https://donate.cancer.org/index) or CASA (www.casaofburlingtoncounty.org)


go to top 
  Post Comment