When Ed Warren passed away in 2006, followed by Lorraine in 2019, observers wondered if Judy would step forward to lead the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), the organization her father founded in 1952. She declined immediately. Her refusal was not driven by hostility toward her parents, but by deep personal conviction.
Judy has described the paranormal world as profoundly exhausting and dangerous. Witnessing the psychological toll that cases like the Amityville horror, the Perron family hauntings, and the Arne Johnson trial took on her parents solidified her stance. She watched her father suffer cardiovascular issues that ultimately contributed to his passing, while her mother spent decades coping with spiritual exhaustion after intense vigils. Judy chose animal welfare, family life, and conventional privacy instead.
The institutional side of the Warren legacy fell to her husband, Tony Spera. Tony, who joined the Warrens' circle in the mid-1980s after meeting Judy, shared Ed’s passion for demonology and anomalous research. He assumed leadership of NESPR and became the public voice defending Ed and Lorraine’s investigative methodologies against persistent skepticism. This arrangement allowed Judy to honor her parents' memory without setting foot inside paranormal investigation scenes.
