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Written by J. Patrick Eaken
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Saturday, 13 September 2008 07:10 |
Friends and family of Julia “Jewel” Bedford, 41, was easy to get along with. Their “Jewel” was a homicide victim in Walbridge Monday.
When commotion arose at their home, many were surprised despite the fact they said her significant other, Larry Adler, 61, had a history of alcohol abuse.
“We were home. We heard the commotion — sirens and such,” said Marianne Schwamberger, who lives directly across the street with husband Matt Schwamberger.
“Horrible. Just horrible,” Marianne sighed. “She’s going to be sorely missed by a lot of people. She had a lot of friends. Everybody she knew was her friend.”
One neighbor was reported by another village resident as saying, “It’s a scene you don’t forget too quickly.”
The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday, so some residents were at their jobs.
“I had never seen anything happen,” Matt Schwamberger said. “It was over by the time I got here.”
The day after the incident, five neighborhood children took the day off from school and were staying close to the victim’s residence with her brother and other concerned friends and family. Children remaining nearby Tuesday included Bedford’s teenage son, Cody, and the girl who came upon Bedford lying in the street Monday.
Walbridge residents say Bedford was courteous to neighborhood children. Plus, she stayed close to her neighbors.
“All the neighborhood girls kind of liked to hang around. She kind of gave them advise and stuff,” Matt Schwamberger said.
“She’d watch our house foR us because we’d go away in the winter,” Marianne said.
“She came over to the house a lot and we sat outside and talked. We got along very good. She was a very nice lady, and Larry was, too,” said Mr. Schwamberger. “They probably had a problem, and I’m just going to miss them.
“She was really a fine lady — we really enjoyed her. She would bake with my wife and they would trade recipes back and forth. If they came up with something new, they would pass it back and forth to each other.”
Bedford worked in the specialty foods department at The Andersons. Village residents remember Bedford for her involvement at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Church, where she was a member, and for appearing at village council meetings to voice her opinion.
At 41, she remained an athlete, playing semi-professional football during the first two out of four seasons of the Toledo Spitfire’s team’s existence. She also played and umpired softball.
Julia Bedford’s mother, Clara, and her stepfather John Bitter, along with her father John Bedford and stepmother Shelly, survive. Also surviving among immediate family members are son Cody, and her brothers John, Jim, Joe, Jeff, and sister Marge.
Funeral services were Friday morning at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Church in Walbridge.
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Friends, family grieve for their friend and “Jewel”
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