Jude Burgfeld

Judith Marie Towler Burgfeld, known to her friends and family as Jude, went home to her Heavenly Father on Sunday, May 17, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center after an extended battle with cancer.

Jude was born September 10, 1951 in Bonne Terre, Missouri, to the late Rev. Ernest W. Towler and Mrs. Betty Towler.

She was a graduate of Farmington High School, and received her bachelors and masters degrees in English from Southeast Missouri State University. Jude was a teacher at Jackson and Saxony High Schools as well as at Southeast Missouri State University, and was an inspiration to many of her students and fellow teachers, building friendships that have lasted her whole life.

To her friends, family, students, teachers and others, Jude was always a source of joy. She lit up a room when she walked in, and her creativity and unending imagination empowered everyone around her. Jude lived her life to the fullest, and leaves behind a legacy of inspiration and love.

Jude married her soul mate, Lawson Burgfeld, on December 20, 1970 surrounded by friends and family, and they celebrated unceasing love and had countless adventures in their 44 years of marriage.

Jude and Lawson were blessed with two children who survive her, Darren (Carrie) Burgfeld of Cape Girardeau and Jamie (Darren) Hefner of New Wells. Also surviving is her husband, Lawson Burgfeld; her mother, Betty Towler of Ironton; four grandchildren, Dori, Max, Layla and Lawson D.; a brother, Bill (Barbara) Towler of Farmington, nieces and nephews and many beloved extended family members.

She was preceded in death by her father, Rev. Ernest W. Towler and her sister, Doris Ellen Elliott.

Visitation will be Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. at the chapel of McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson, and Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. until service time at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson. The funeral service will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at the church, with internment to follow at St. James United Church of Christ in Tilsit.

A woman with many treasured names - Mama Jude, Mrs. B., Judy - Jude was a light to the world and an inspiration to many. To honor her memory and preserve her legacy, memorial donations may be made to the following: