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Judy Boneschansker was born July 15, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She grew up in North York, Ontario, one of three siblings.  Her brother, Murray Stephen, 14 years her senior, is now deceased, and her sister, Pat Scott Halbach, is nine years older than Judy.  Their father was a bus and subway driver for the TTC and Gray Coach Lines.  "Many times he would come home with stories of people he met and charters he took.  On one of his last trips before he retired, he took mother and I and my girls Heather and Bonnie with him on a trip to Sudbury.  I have pictures and great memories of that trip," Judy stated.

Judy completed high school, and wishes she had gone farther with her education, as she wanted to become a nurse.  However, she was discouraged from going that route.  While in school, her favorite teachers were Mr. Palermo, her 4th grade teacher and Mr. Bowers, who taught 8th and 9th grade English.  "School was always a struggle for me.  I felt like I lived in a fog and couldn't remember anything I was taught.  Teachers were convinced that I didn't try hard enough," she said.

A favorite childhood memory is of going to England with her mom in 1955, 1957 and 1965.  "We visited family and toured around the UK; in 1965 I spent the year in Northern Ireland with Pat and Jack.  I would go back to the UK in a heartbeat!" she said.  "I remember one night Mother had gone out with our cousin and I had been sent to bed.  I couldn't sleep so I stood quietly by the bedroom window watching the movements of neighbors and friends of the family.  I saw Mother arrive home, so I scurried to bed and pretended to be asleep.  I didn't remember her coming to bed!" she added.








Her family originally had an outhouse, but after Judy was born they had inside plumbing.  She remembers a friend's family had an outhouse, and she would light fire to a string to kill the smell!

Some of the childhood games and entertainments she remembers include bike riding, board games and church activities.  When she began dating they usually attended youth activities.  One date was after work on a Friday night:  she was picked up and they went touring, had butterscotch sundaes, and just enjoyed a great, clean, time as two couples together.  "We didn't get home until after three in the morning, and Dad was standing in the driveway.  He gave the driver a "tongue lashing" and didn't ever know that the driver wasn't my date, even though we had dated in the past!" she added.

Judy worked in stores as a clerk or as a waitress when she was young.  An embarrassing story she shared was about when she was working in a 'hole in the wall' restaurant.  Her husband and second daughter were waiting for her in the restaurant to get off work.  She had to mop the floor, and rehearsed in her mind how she would get Jack, the truck driver, to lift his feet so she could mop there.  "Jack, could you move your feet for a minute, please?"  "When I got to the front of the café, I looked at him and said, "Can I get under you, Jack?"  His response was classic truck driver—"Any time, sweetheart, any time."  I was never so embarrassed in my life!" she said.

Later in life she drove school bus for many years, then had the opportunity to drive highway coach, and city transit.....the same thing her dad drove.  It was a lifestyle she loved.

"After we moved to the north, money was tight, so I took a truck driving course and drove team with my husband.  We had a great time driving team, seeing the country and laughing.  If a couple can make a marriage work in a 4 x 8 box, they can make it anywhere!  We saw a mountain in Montana, a golden eagle (that I thought for sure would hit the windshield) soar over the truck on wind currents.  We saw snow in the mountains, stars in Nebraska, and storms that caused major accidents.  We experienced temperatures of 104 degrees in Phoenix and two feet of snow in Flagstaff on the 22nd of December; ice fog in Illinois and Iowa in November.  When I stopped for a drink and a burger, I fell flat on my behind!  The ice on the truck was an inch thick!  That was the end of driving that night.  We waited till the sanders came out.  We met some of the most wonderful people on our trips," she enthused. 

Pat's husband Jack told Judy about this good-looking Dutch guy she just had to meet, but Judy really wasn't interested, and when they finally were introduced she barely looked at him.  He called a few weeks later asking her out to a country and western concert in Toronto at the famous Massy Hall.  So she asked her dad if she could go (hoping he would say no, but he didn't.)  And the rest, as they say, is history!  That was in October of 1968.  Judy and John married on February 6, 1971.  They have three children:  Heather, Bonnie and Douglas.








A big difference Judy sees in the world now from when she was young is that in those young days kids could play outside summer and winter.  "We would go biking down the middle of the road with our cousins, and tobogganing down 'The Killer' with Pat, our cousins and youth groups," she explained.  Today the kids stay indoors playing on electronics.  They are not safe to ride bikes the way we did; there are too many dangers out there of which parents have to beware.  "There is little or no discipline with the children today, whereas when I was young, if we stepped a foot out of line we knew it!" she added.








Judy has always loved sewing, crafting and knitting, but never learned to crochet or quilt. "I have made wedding ensembles, brides' and bridesmaids' dresses, as well as the matching cummerbunds and bow ties for the men.  I still knit, however, my eyes have weakened and sewing is difficult," she says.

She has traveled by train to various places in the UK.  When she was little she would sit on her mother's cousin's knee and he would drum on her legs in time with the sound of the tracks.  She also made a train trip to Mosinee to see the sights around James Bay.  Her worst experience was getting a bad cold on the James Bay trip.

The achievement or accomplishment that gives Judy the most satisfaction is taking an accounting course and passing with honors.

A valuable lesson she has learned that she would like to pass along to younger readers is:  Believe what the Bible says, it is true.  Don't tell everything you know, don't believe everything you hear, and live a pure and honorable life with integrity.

She sees the years of driving the truck with John as the best time period of her life.  The first thing she saved up her money to buy was a ring for the love of her life, and he wears it to this day.  The strangest thing she did to earn money was making covers for truck scanners.

In her childhood home, she usually ate breakfast alone, as she preferred it that way.  Often, her dad would make her lunch before he left for work, and supper was a 6:30 when he came home from work.  "We would watch for him out the kitchen window.  He had a unique way of walking, always with a bounce to his step as he rolled up onto the ball of his foot.  We would sit down and hear about Dad's day at work.  Mother would baby-sit and earn her money for trips that way," she explained.

The family laundry was done in an old wringer washing machine and hung out on the long clothes line behind the house.  The week before they were to leave for Ireland to see Pat (on the Saturday before leaving), her mom asked Judy to do all the laundry while she went shopping for the last things they needed for the trip.  "I got up, did all the laundry, washed, dried and ironed all that needed ironing, and then proceeded to put it all away.  When Mom came home, she didn't see the results of my efforts.  I was a teenager, and was sitting talking on the phone. (Some things never change!)  Mom was upset and went to gather all the laundry together—and couldn't find it!  She went to the laundry room and there was nothing there.  Finally she asked me where I had put the laundry.  I told her it was all finished and put away.  She was so surprised, and I was pleased that I had done all that was expected.  A few days later we left for Ireland," she finished.

Judy enjoyed being in a play in the school she attended in Northern Ireland.  She enjoyed being in that play, which was historical fiction.  While living there, Pat had many things delivered to their house, but in Canada, the only things that were delivered to her house after Judy married were milk, juice and bread products.

Her favorite foods are meatloaf, mashed potatoes and veggies with gravy over all.  Her favorite desserts are fruit crisp, any fruit, and real UK trifle.  Her favorite holiday song is What Child is This?...because each of us has to make a decision about who Jesus is.

One thing Judy regrets is not ignoring the nay-sayers and going ahead and becoming a nurse.  Her husband taught her to drive when she was 19 years old.  Her first car was the car she and John had when they married.  They had Heather and Bonnie while they owned that car.  It was a teal colored 1968 Plymouth Fury, and cost around $3000.  "We would love to find another Fury 3 and restore it to the condition ours was.  Within months of trading in our Fury the person who bought it drove it into the lake." she said.

For her wedding, Judy wore the dress of her dreams, white, with a long train and a veil that blended into the train.  There were about 100 people present, and she had three bridesmaids, a maid of honor and a flower girl.









As to her hopes for the future of her country, Judy says, "As long as Prime Minister Stephen Harper stays in government, Canada will continue to do quite well.  If Trudeau gets in with the next election, this country will go down the drain."

What she agrees with in the government:  Harper is increasing the imports/exports, thus bettering the economy.  "We are getting to a point that we no longer have to depend on the USA to survive.  I disagree with the way they allow immigration of people with high educational qualifications, and then make them re-qualify with their education in order to practice in Canada.  Many receive false promises of high paying jobs, and then end up working in convenience stores trying to make ends meet," she explained.

The person who most influenced her in her life was a counselor, Jim Williamson.  The one she most admires is Carman, the Christian singer.  The biggest change she has seen during her lifetime is electronics.  The first Prime Minister for whom she voted was Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

The worst crime she remembers was the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.  The greatest achievement of Canada:  The Avro Arrow.  Judy's favorite comic strip is Peanuts.

She remembers eating out at Swiss Chalet after church, on special occasions, birthdays and anniversaries.  She took piano to grade 6 and voice lessons from her Aunt Margaret.  Her favorite authors are Ted Dekker and Grisham.

Some storms she recalls are that in 1954 Hurricane Hazel hit Toronto, and she remembers how deep the water was and that her brother took photos of the damage.

Memories of church: 
She always attended, still does.  She was raised Baptist, and now goes to Callander Bay Evangelical Missionary Church.  "For many years we didn't go to church as we found there was a lot of gossip and condemnation.  It took a lot to get over the feeling that "If that is Christianity, I want nothing to do with it.'" she explained.

The greatest lesson learned has been to not say everything she thinks.  (That would be a good lesson for all of us!)  She would like to be remembered as a person who loved her family.

A special memory is of lying on the sofa in their living room at the end of a day of house cleaning when she was five or six years old, listening to George Beverly Shea sing I walked Today Where Jesus Walked and deciding to go to the places where Jesus walked.  She still wants to go to the Holy Land.

Her favorite type of music is Christian Contemporary; her favorite poem is IF; her favorite quote is "it didn't come to stay, it came to pass" and her favorite scripture is Philippians 1:2 and 4:8-9.  Her pet name for her spouse is "My Rock."

At school, her nickname was Stinky Stephens.  She says she was bullied all the time in school and so were her kids.

The best pet she ever owned was a difficult question, but she says it is a toss-up, as all her dogs have been special, but so have her cats and birds, so there isn't really a favorite.  Her favorite flowers are the lilac and lily of the valley for outdoor ones, and violets for indoors.

The first thing Judy does is she starts to get depressed is turn on Christian praise music, make a good meal and make sure she gets enough rest.

The most important decisions of her life were becoming a Christian and marrying John.


Questions about photography:
Are you considered an expert in any area of photography?
No.

Are you considered the 'go-to' person for family shots and friendly portraits?
No.

Do you get inspiration from the pictures on our site?
Yes, from some who have left CP to take unusual pictures.

Have you ever taken any classes in photography? 
No.

Thank you Janet!

Well written, Janet. 

Judy, the first thing in your bio that strikes me is that you were born exactly one month after I graduated from high school!   

Hi Judy!

I really love that photo of you and Bev.  Love the curls in your hair!!! 

Thanks Pat.

Jeanne that is just a few years difference.

I enjoyed reading the story of your life.

Thank you Ruth.

Janet, first of all a great job on the story.

Judy, you have had an interesting life with your travels to the UK as well as the miles traveled in the USA with John.  Thanks for sharing your story. 

Thank you Larry.

Thank you, Judy, Jeanne and Larry.  And Pat, thanks for the comment on Judy's curls, as I was wondering which little girl was her!

Well done, Janet...... a keeper.... b.t.w., she is too!!

Thanks Ruth!