Dear Subscribers and Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I want to let you know about the loss of The Redbud Post’s editor-in-chief, JoHannah Reardon, on February 4, 2021, after an 18-month battle with cancer. JoHannah was a longtime Redbud Writers Guild member and had been the editor-in-chief of The Redbud Post since August of 2017 after having helped with the publication from its inception. But beyond that, she was a beloved friend, wife, mother, and grandmother along with being a prolific and talented writer and editor.

My first encounter with JoHannah, before I even joined the Redbud Writers Guild, was through her fiction books. When I became a Redbud and heard JoHannah’s name I thought to myself, That name sounds familiar. And then it occurred to me: I had met her through the pages of her books. “The Blackberry County Chronicles,” “The Distant Shores Series,” “The Land of Neo.” These are all treasures in my digital library.

When, just 3 months into my tenure as a Redbud, I submitted an article for publication in The Post, JoHannah worked with me to make my article, Contemporary Worship: Music to My Ears, fit for publication. Over the next 3 years, JoHannah worked with me on several other articles, and I always appreciated her sensitivity and input. When, in June of 2019, I began assisting JoHannah in editing The Post, nobody had any idea that she was on the verge of a cancer diagnosis.

And that just 18 months later, she would be gone.

Without exception, every Redbud who had occasion to interact with JoHannah loved her. Her gentle spirit and love for Jesus were evident in everything she touched. Through her tenure at Christianity Today, her missionary service, her role as a church planter alongside her husband, Brad, JoHannah let her light shine.

Along with Afton Rorvik, assistant editor, we want to assure you that we will do our very best to take up the torch of publishing timely and quality articles from our Redbud writers in the monthly Redbud Post. We appreciate your prayers and support during this time of grieving for JoHannah. We appreciate you very much.

God bless you as you walk with Him,

Stephanie Reeves
Interim Editor in Chief
The Redbud Post