Judith "Hude" (McDonnell) Rupp

Judy, or ‘Hude’ as her closest family and friends came to know her, came to death peacefully at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL on December 27, 2022.

Judith Mary McDonnell Rupp was born on Friday the 13th of July, 1951, to William “Bill” McDonnell and Helen Pfannenstiel McDonnell.  Judy always considered Friday the 13th to be one of the luckiest days, never unlucky! Judy’s father preceded her in death in 1961, and her mother later married Raymond Nugent in 1963.  Together they raised Judy and 17 other children and foster-child, Tom Waters, in Grand Mound, Iowa.  Ray preceded Judy in death in 2006, and Helen in 2009.

Judy grew up with her uncommonly large family in Grand Mound, Iowa. The two families came together with a little tug, pull, tape & glue along the way. They became known as the McNugent’s and still call themselves that today!

Judy graduated from Central DeWitt High School in DeWitt, IA in 1969. She attended two years at Clinton Community College, Clinton IA. She took her first job with City Hall, Clinton, as a secretary, and learned computer operations, keypunching and a small amount of RPG coding. She joined John Deere Davenport Works computer department and worked there until 1980, when she married Scott Rupp and they moved to NYC with Scott’s employment.

In 1982, the Rupp’s moved to Addison, IL where their family of five children began. In 1998 Scott and Judy split and Judy moved with the kids to the Arrowhead Subdivision, Wheaton, IL where they remained in the family homestead until she sold it in 2019 and moved to her current home in Home Glen, IL with daughter, Natalie and son-in-law, Jon Schmidt, where she lived out the rest of her days.

In 2000, Judy went to work for DuPage Internal Medicine and continued with this same group of wonderful people throughout corporate changes from DPIM to Cadence Physician Group to now Northwestern Medicine.  In April, 2022, Judy transferred to Northwestern Medicine Palos Heights Hospital ER as a registration representative, to get closer to home. She enjoyed this position very much! She would say it was like reading several different story books all night long… never a dull moment and many ‘OMG’ moments!

She loved interacting with co-workers and patients, alike. Her goal was always to have customer satisfaction and a smile on their face as they left her desk.

Judy loved to laugh and could almost always find humor in any situation. She loved what she called ‘story time,’ and would give what she considered a ‘life lesson’ through one of her own past adventures or someone’s she knew of, using Paul Harvey’s ‘… rest of the story’ as her favorite educational tool.

Judy was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Terry McDonnell, Paul and Dale Nugent, brothers-in-law, Bill Wright and Brian Johnson, and nieces and nephews, Ryan Nugent, Jared Witt, Tommy & Mary McDonnell, Emma Nugent and Jenni McDonnell.

Those left to honor Hude’s memory include her children Tim (Nia) Rupp, Lindsey (Jeff Joyce), Natalie (Jon Schmidt), Greg (Vanya) Rupp, and Dan (Sarah and granddaughter Anastasia) Rupp.

The McNugents continue to thrive through squeaks & groans here and there with siblings and spouses. Karen (Doug Kruger), Michael (Nancy) Nugent, Patricia Gebhardt, Kay (John Grillot), Lana Nugent (Paul Nugent deceased), Ann (Jason Witt), Roy (Nancy) McDonnell, Sheri (Dale Nugent deceased), JoAnn (Terry McDonnell deceased), John (Joellyn) McDonnell, Jean (Bill Wright deceased), Margaret (Andy Beierwaltes) Bill (Liz) McDonnell, Joe (Carman) Nugent, Mary Therese (John Eldracher), Dan (Holly) Nugent and Jim (Kim) Nugent, and many nieces and nephews.

A Visitation will be held from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., with recitation of the Rosary at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at Sheehy Funeral Home in Orland Park, IL. Visitation will continue at Schultz Funeral Home, DeWitt, IA from 12:00 Noon until 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 4th, with recitation of the Rosary at 1:15 p.m. and Funeral Mass following at 1:30 p.m. in the funeral home. Judy will be buried in the McNugent family plot in Calvary Cemetery, Grand Mound, next to Raymond and Helen Nugent.

Those attending are invited to join the family for a luncheon following at the Grand Mound Community Center. 

Judy was and always will remain the Queen Bee!

Arrangements are in the care of Schultz Funeral Home, DeWitt. Condolences may be expressed at www.schultzfuneralhomes.com

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