Judy A. Leininger

Judith Ann Tipton Leininger, 69, of Bolivar died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, at St. John s Hospital in Springfield from a severe heart infection. She was the daughter of Raymond Eugene Bud Tipton and Wilma Louise Pride Tipton. She was born April 10, 1940, in East St. Louis, Ill., graduating from East Side High School in 1958 and Washington University, St. Louis, with a B.A. in elementary education in 1962. She taught school as a substitute teacher for several years but considered her primary calling to be a mother and pastor s wife. She married William Ray Leininger in 1962, and they had three children. As a pastor s wife, she served with Ray in Hennepin, Okla., from 1971 to 1973; Normal, Ill., from 1973 to 1984; and First Baptist Church of Bolivar from 1984 to 2004. Over the years she ministered in youth and student ministry. In women s ministry she served in planning, leading Bible studies and discipleship. She was a mentor to many women and invested herself in each ministry with her characteristic passion. In the 1980s, she and Ray led their first international mission team to Bolivia and have led mission teams to Venezuela, Belarus, Ukraine and Romania. Since 2005 they have served under the appointment of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention as Virtual Strategy Coordinators in Tomsk, Russia. In these recent ministries, in Central and Eastern Europe, they have led teams to teach conversational English, have prepared teaching materials and trained several hundred short-term missionaries from multiple states. These mission ministries have been her joy in recent years, and during her brief illness family and national friends that circle the globe lifted her and her family up in prayer. She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Ray, of the home; three children, Andy and his wife, Elizabeth, of Novosibirsk, Russia, Beth and her husband, Steve Moore, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Sarah and Tom Jones of Bolivar; and 11 grandchildren, Hannah, Rachel and Rebekah Leininger, Katy, Nathan, Emily and Claire Moore, and Madelynne, Abby, Sam and John Jones. She is also survived by a host of friends and fellow believers in many places and time zones. Her family joins in giving testimony that she is now healed, with a whole heart that is rejoicing in the presence of the Jesus Christ whom she now knows face to face. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made to First Baptist Church for Tomsk, Russia, Ministry. Funeral services will be at 10:00 A M Monday, August 17, 2009 at Bolivar First Baptist Church with Rev. Billy Russell and the Leininger family officiating. Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery. Visitation will be at First Baptist Church Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made to First Baptist Church for Tomsk, Russia, Ministry. Online condolences may be made at www.murrayfuneralhomes.com. PDF Printable Version

Judy A. Leininger

April 10, 1940 - August 12, 2009