Rev. Judith C Sheriff

It is with great sadness that we announce Judith Coleman Sheriff passed into the nearer presence of our Lord on September 25, 2022.  Judith, the daughter of the late Glenn and Mildred Coleman, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Horace Mann Middle School and graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1969. She played bass clarinet in the concert band and xylophone in the marching band. She went on to Phillips University and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. She then completed her Juris Doctor Degree at Oklahoma City University and worked in the Attorney General’s office in Oklahoma City. At that time, Judy was also co-operator for an adoption agency and adopted her two eldest two children from Korea. After moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, she worked for Protection and Advocacy, assisting persons with disabilities. Judy also worked as a prosecuting attorney for the New Mexico Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Judy married David Sheriff (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) in 1995 and the adopted ten children together. When the family moved to Bethlehem in 2005, Judy continued her education at Moravian Theological Seminary, earning her Masters of Divinity and Masters Theological Studies in 2010. Judy served as a Pastor and Hospice Chaplain in the intervening years before retiring in 2020.

Judy was a member of College Hill Moravian Church where she served on the Board of Elders, rang in the handbell choir, and helped teach Sunday School.   Judy was an avid reader, an advocate for disability rights, and adoption. She was a baseball fan and enjoyed watching her boys play Little League, American Legion, and high school baseball. She avidly followed her daughters as they played soccer and danced. She made herself available to assist with homework and was the chief editor of her children’s research papers.

Judy is survived by her husband, David, daughter Mary Jankowiak and her husband Michael (Colorado Springs, CO), daughter Julie, sons John and his wife Autumn (El Paso, TX), Jacob and his wife Alexis (Cincinnati, OH), Luke, Levi, and Noah, and daughter Ivy, brother Richard Coleman (Tulsa, OK), and her grandchildren: Jayden, Hailey, Jet, Arrow, and Strider.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the handbell choir of College Hill Moravian Church in Judy’s name.

Funeral Services will take place on Friday at 1PM in College Hill Moravian Church 72 W. Laurel Street, Bethlehem, PA.  A public calling hour will begin at 12PM in the church.  Interment will follow services in Union Cemetery of Hellertown.

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