Judith Rosten

Judy attended Killeen High School and graduated from Austin High School in El Paso, Texas in 1962. Judy went to 5 high schools during her high school career. She was a good student and was accepted to the University of Texas at Austin where she graduated with a BA in Mathematics and an MS in Computer Science. Judy then began working for NASA at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston as Guidance and Navigation. She enjoyed the challenges that came with the work and the thrills that came with success. After completing her work with NASA, Judy returned to Killeen, Texas to work on Fort Hood for the Department of Army in Military Intelligence for 28 years until her retirement in 1999.

Her job working with the military allowed her plenty of room to travel the world for the U.S. Government. During Judy’s travels, she was able to enjoy her many hobbies. Judy was an avid collector of unique items. She collected carousel horses, which she restored, and jewelry. Judy loved jewelry and bought several antique pieces while traveling. She would continue looking for unusual and antique pieces long after her retirement. Judy was also a good artist and enjoyed taking classes to hone her craft. She painted many different pieces in different styles. She was known to gift her art to friends and even sold some pieces.

During her career, Judy purchased a Porsche and often spoke of the car affectionately. She said it was her favorite car and competed in many road rallies with the car. She would often lament the selling of her Porsche and would laugh and say the car would have loved twisting roads she found along her journeys.

Ever since Judy was young, she was an avid horse woman. She always had at least one horse by her side during her long life. Judy would purchase horses for show and would even run some. In her later years, she settled on show horses, of which she had many great ones. She belonged to many state wide and national association, one being “The Sidesaddle Association.” She and her horses won many awards and, in her later years, she enjoyed to watch them win. She was the world champion in the Palomino Association, pinto, paint, and quarter horse. Judy would say that was not bad for a small-time owner who always found a bargain.

Judy lived her life to the fullest every day. She even made plans for the new year and was ready to embrace new challenges. She passed on December 28th, 2024. She is survived by her horses, cats, and many loving friends.