Judith “Judy” Gay Devenport, 77, passed away on Monday, July 27th, 2020 after a brief, but difficult battle with COVID. She is survived by her sister-in-law Dortha Devenport, Nieces – Debra Witherspoon, Gloria Cabibi, Jolanda Wood and Janell Smith and Nephews, Randy Gideon, George Devenport and James Smith. Preceded in death by her parents and siblings and two nephews, Arthur Smith and Bobby Dixon.
There will be a FB live event on the “Praying for Judy” site for the service for those that can’t attend. We are trying to be considerate of our family members with compromised immune systems during this time. Please attend virtual, if possible, and reserve the minimal spaces at graveside for family.
Judy was born August 2nd, 1942 in Ranger, Texas to Arthur “A.C.” Devenport and Era Bernice (Sanders) Devenport, joining a family of 3 siblings, big brother, Arthur “Ossie” and sisters, Grace and Gailya. At just 21 days old, Judy and her family moved from Ranger to Arlington, Texas where Judy spent the majority of her life attending Arlington schools and starting her working career. She grew up on what is now the southern tip of the University of Texas at Arlington Campus. Judy worked in the dry cleaning and laundry business for over 30 years. She also delighted in babysitting and her work in maintenance, but enjoyed retiring after spending several years working at GideonToal Architects. For the last 8 years Judy resided in Fort Worth.
You didn’t have to know Judy for very long to realize how much she loved her family. She was so proud of all of her nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family friends. While she never had children of her own, she had a hand in raising many. She always found the babies to rock and had a knack at getting them to sleep. She had many other passions, too, mostly fishing and softball. She loved to fish and had dreams of going to the coast for one last trip with her nephews and great nephews. And boy, could she play softball. She inspired and coached many young women to be the best at the game. She coached 4th and 5th grade softball for 10 years and loved every minute of it. And it can’t go without saying how much she loved horses and all things western.
Over the last few days we have received so many messages for Judy. Many of them refer to her as “My Judy”. That just shows how extra special she was to so many and that she made them feel special, too. She was kind, quiet, and a real jokester. She loved by serving others. She was sunshine to many people, even when she was sick or in the nursing home. Her fellow residence called her “The Judge” because she wanted fairness for all the residents and often was their peacemaker. She had gotten plenty of experience being a peacemaker with her sisters, Grace and Gail. With her green thumb, every wayward plant or planter would make its way to her door. Many plants have been nursed, shared, and loved in her care. She loved to garden and “play in the dirt” from her power chair and usually with her dog, Rocky, by her side. He was such a great comfort to her and brought her many hours of companionship. We are so appreciative of one of her friends who is loving Rocky for Judy and often sent pictures or brought him for visits.
Judy grew up in church and was a believer in Jesus, but her relationship with Christ deepened when Melinda, her home health aide, came into her life. Melinda would pick Judy up on Sundays to attend her home church and they would share devotionals over the phone almost every night. Judy’s passion for scripture grew and she found great joy in listening to The Word. Our family is forever grateful for the love and compassion that Melinda and her husband, Steve, showed to Judy and for the influence they had in her spiritual journey.
In a recent interview at her retirement home, she told the interviewer she had one regret in life, “I never married or had a house full of children. I love them so!” However, there was no shortage of kids in her life that she loved. She was fiercely loved back by three generations of nieces and nephews. Everyone looked forward to spending time with her because she knew how to have fun. If there were games, snipe hunting, deer hunting, camping, bowling, fishing, or softball, she was there. There are too many stories to share here, but feel free to share your memory of Judy in the comment section. We love hearing them all.
Judy holds a special place in our hearts and will be with us always. We will miss you Judy, but we know where you’ll be until we see you again… gone fishin’ in Glory.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18