Ben & Judy Schwab

Pleasant Hill Houseparents

Ben grew up in Winona, Minnesota and attended Iowa State University to study Construction Engineering.  He came to know the Lord through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU).  After graduating college, he worked in several states including Iowa, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida, and then Winona, Minnesota once again for 28 years.  He worked for the Weitz Company for three years, the Schwab family construction business for 20 years, and then in 2006 he started a construction technology consulting business.

Judy grew up in Pittsburgh and went to college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  She also came know the Lord through the ministry of CRU, and after graduating she taught school in the South Pittsburgh area.  During this season she met Ben while Christmas caroling with a young adult group from their church.  They were married a year and half later in the summer of 1985, and she moved to Boston with him.  Judy taught school for five years before starting their family, and she loved being a stay-at-home mom for many years.  Around 2014 she began working for a non-profit organization with developmentally delayed adults who lived on their own but needed support services.

Judy heard a support clip for WVR on the World News podcast in July of 2021.  She and Ben checked out the Ranch’s website and were intrigued because they had been praying and looking for opportunities to houseparent for about five years.  They were excited to see the team of people the Lord had gathered and to witness the beautiful work of redemption at the Ranch.  They visited in late fall of 2021, and the Lord confirmed in many ways that He was inviting them to join in His work at Wears Valley Ranch.  They have been houseparents to the girls in Pleasant Hill since January 2022.

Both Ben and Judy love the Lord and desire to give students the opportunity to experience a Christ-centered home and see an example of a healthy Christian marriage.  They love to connect with the Lord in His creation and want to bring along the students for camping, hiking, biking and swimming in the Great Smoky Mountains where they can experience the Savior’s awesome creative and sustaining power!