Judy Merwald

Young Life has lost a legend. Judy Merwald went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 1, 2024. She left a legacy in her family, and friends, and in the mission of Young Life in Canada, the United States, and Brazil.

Judy Flesvig joined the Young Life staff before she met her husband, Hal Merwald. In fact, she was the one who encouraged Hal to consider joining staff himself. After they married, they served the mission together working in Little Rock, Arkansas. One day in 1966 Hal and Judy received a letter from Brazil inviting them to help initiate Young Life there. After months of deliberation and prayer, Hal and Judy boarded a freighter from New Orleans to South America. ​

For the next decade, by the grace of God, they coordinated the establishment of the mission of Alvo da Mocidade (Young Life in Brazil). When the time came to leave, they continued to serve in the Young Life ministry in New York, Colorado Springs, and then later, for 25 years, in Canada.

Judy took on an active role in leadership development and showed, by example, what it meant to follow Jesus. She taught and counseled many couples in Brazil, Canada, and the U.S. by her words and example. She hosted training sessions and served as a mentor for young staff women, guiding them through the Young Life practicum courses. One of her great and enduring contributions to the mission in Canada is the women’s camp. This camp started first in Judy’s mind, secondly at Malibu, and continues to this day now at RockRidge Canyon. All throughout her life of ministry Judy was known for being a beautiful hostess, a wise counselor, and a great adventurer in life.

She was authentic in all she did, authentic in her faith, and authentic with all who crossed her path. If you talked to Judy about the sacrifices she made for the mission, she would look at you with a question in her eyes as if to say, “What sacrifice? It’s a privilege to serve Christ in this way.”

Those of us privileged to know her, and serve with her, have been changed by her steadfast commitment to the Lord, to Hal, to her family, to the staff of Young Life in three countries, and to fulfilling the Great Commission.

"All power in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. You, then, are to go and make disciples of all the nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you and, remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20 J.B. Phillips).

Judy proved herself obedient. She went into the nations with the heart of an adventurer, discipled new followers of Jesus, and was faithful to the end. Now she is with Jesus and at rest. We ask for God to comfort Hal, and her family and friends in their grief, though we do not grieve as those with no hope. Jesus is our hope, and one day, we will see Judy again, perfected.