Judy Anne Waxman

Judy Anne (Davis) Waxman passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family on October 2, 2020. She was born on July 19, 1947 in Denton, Texas to beloved parents of blessed memory, Mrs. Annie-Wise and Dr. Bert Davis. Judy is survived by her husband, William (Bill) Manuel Waxman, her children, Alan, Joel and Molly, their spouses, Charlotte, Lorena & Jordan, along with seven grandchildren, Lucas, Isabelle, Annie, Leo, Nathan, Olivia & Arielle, and her brother Dr. David B. Davis of Camus, Washington. Her grandchildren will forever remember how much their “Nini” loved them.

Judy grew up in Denton, TX, where she attended Denton High School, and by all of her accounts, was VERY popular. She then attended and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where she was an education major and proud member of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority, the Orange Jackets and many others. During her senior year she met the love of her life, Bill, who just so happened to be working his way through UT law school as a waiter at the AEPhi house on campus. When she set eyes on Bill, she immediately warned her gawking sorority sisters, “he’s mine.”

Judy and Bill were married on May 24, 1970 and after living in Panama during Bill’s military service and a brief stint in Washington, DC, settled forever in Austin, TX. Throughout their lives, Judy and Bill traveled the world together, laughed, created a large lifelong group of friends, and completely devoted their lives to their children and grandchildren. Just this year, Judy and Bill celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, to which Judy attributed her successful marriage to the fact that they never went to bed angry at one another and always said “I love you” before falling asleep.

Judy began her career as an elementary school teacher and then started her own business before electing to raise her three children full time. Once Alan reached high school, Judy decided to enter back into the workforce and the incredible legacy of her career began. After not working for well over [10] years, Judy was 1 of 500 applicants going for a fund raising / development position at the Girl Scouts of Central Texas, and she got the job. In her position there, she greatly expanded the community profile and spearheaded the successful campaign to build a new Austin headquarters for the Girl Scouts. In 2003 she became the Senior Development Director for the Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas where she led the $87 Million Capital Campaign to build Dell Children’s Medical Center from the ground up, drastically elevating Austin’s ability to care for children facing healthcare emergencies. Following her time at the Children’s Medical Center, Judy continued to use her immense fundraising talents and volunteered to co-chair the Generations Campaign for the expansion of the Dell Jewish Community Center, now Shalom Austin, of Austin. Judy’s greatest skill was to include people of varying backgrounds into supporting the mission of the organizations. She worked with both their time and money, all the while having fun and treating everyone with love and respect. Judy’s contribution as a development professional helped forever change both the Jewish communities and the City of Austin itself forever.

In 2013, Judy was diagnosed with Leukemia and a rare genetic mutation associated with the cancer that gave her unfavorable chances of survival. With her children and grandchildren as her reason to live, she fought like hell with determination that inspired her family and everyone around her. Judy survived a stem cell transplant and experimental Phase I drugs, to miraculously eventually enter full remission. Once she felt strong enough, she immediately resumed her co-chair duties and re-dedicated herself to her community by re-joining the successful Shalom Austin Generations Campaign. The Generations Campaign goal was met, and groundbreaking of the building expansion commenced this past month. Along the way she received the incredible honor being named as a Woman of Valor for her work and dedication on this Jewish Community campaign. Like the Children’s Medical Center, her legacy and imprint on the Austin Jewish community will remain for a generation - L’dor V’dor.

In her 7 years of remission, Judy lived to see her last child married, three more grandchildren born, and continued to be the heart and soul of the Waxman family.

Judy did not have a mean bone in her body and was kind to every person she ever met. She lit up every room that she went into and treated everyone with kindness and fairness her entire life. She impacted everyone with whom she spoke in a positive way. The world lost a truly beautiful soul when Judy passed away, but she has left an incredible legacy for generations to come in the city of Austin and the family that survives her.