Judy (Goodman) Wardlow
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Judy Luann (Goodman) Wardlow (1944 - 2019)

Judy Luann Wardlow formerly Goodman
Born in Coleman, Coleman, Texas, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Sister of
Wife of [private husband (1940s - unknown)]
Mother of [private daughter (1970s - unknown)]
Died at age 74 in Coleman, Texas, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 5 Mar 2014
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Judy (Goodman) Wardlow is a member of Clan Stewart.
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Judy (Goodman) Wardlow was a wonderful member of our WikiTree community who has passed away. Judy (Goodman) Wardlow made many contributions and will be missed.


Biography

Judy was born at 10:45 am on 5 November 1944 in the small town of Coleman, Texas to Charles Goodman and Jewel Bilbrey. When Judy was born Charles was 48 and Jewel was 38 so its probably safe to assume that her arrival was a bit of a surprise. Awaiting the new baby were two older brothers, Donnie born in 1930 and Bobby born in 1933, There is a family story that before Judy was born Bobby went around the neighborhood asking "if the new baby was a boy would they take it because his family already had two.

From the day of her birth until 24 January 1948 Judy led a happy life. But that morning it all changed. Jewel did things about the house, including writing a letter. She then took the letter outside and placed it in the mailbox and then walked around the corner to call Charles to come in the house for lunch. It was bitterly cold that January. When Jewel reached her husband's Radiator Repair Shop Charles had at least two large open faced heaters blazing. Apparently, Jewel was splashed with some kind of flammable liquid and she stumbled backward into one of the heaters. In a few short seconds she was totally engulfed. Despite Charles' quick action to snuff out the flames and get Jewel to the local hospital, she died later that same night. When her mother's funeral was over Judy, aged 3 years, 2 months, and 19 days, was sent to live with her mother's sister, Leota Bilbrey Shaw in San Saba, TX.

Life with her Aunt Leota and Uncle Frank was pleasant.

Frank and Leota had two teenage children, Frank, Jr. and Barbara Sue who were always kind. Aunt Leota was a nurse at the local hospital. Uncle Frank worked for the Acheson Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The entire family was very active in the local Baptist Church. As Judy got older Aunt Leota began teaching her to play the piano. There were singing lessons and dance lessons and, of course, recitals with beautiful dresses. For many years Judy could still tap dance to "School Days" though she never claimed it was much of an accomplishment. Still it used to make her husband chuckle.

In September 1950 Judy's father Charles married Grace B. Lee and Judy was brought back home. Sadly the marriage lasted only a few weeks. Charles and Grace were divorced later that same year. Judy doesn't remember much about the time when she, her Father, and Grace were a family. What she does remember is about a time when Grace took her to Paris, Texas. While they were there, Grace bought her some new shoes. When they got home Judy was excited and kept wanting to show off her new shoes, but her Father was angry and wasn't interested in her shoes. Looking back she had the impression that Grace did not have her Father's permission to take her to Paris and that was the source of her Father's anger.

Their divorce was final on 18 December 1950; Judy was sent back to her Aunt Leota and Uncle Frank's.

Charles tried one more time to find a wife who would make a home for Judy. There was a family named Harper who lived next door to Charles. Mr. Harper had a sister who was divorced or widowed with a young son who was severely disabled and spent most of his time in a baby bed. Her name was Atha Harper. Only Charles and Atha could tell the truth of their arrangement, but it was surmised that Charles agreed to give Atha and her boy a home; Atha agreed to make a home for Judy. In any event, Charles and Atha were married on 27 April 1952. Judy was, once again, brought home from her Aunt Leota and Uncle Frank's. She was 7 years, 5 months, and 22 days old. Life was OK with Atha and her little boy for a while. But little by little Atha's behavior became very erratic and before the year was out her Father and Mr. Harper decided that she needed professional help. Judy was sitting with Atha in the living room one day when her Father and Mr. Harper came in with two gentlemen from a hospital in San Antonio. The gentlemen took Atha away and Judy never saw her again. Atha remained a patient in that hospital until she died.

Only this time her Father decided that Judy was old enough to stay home without a mother figure to take care of her. So her Father enrolled her in the first grade of South Ward Elementary School and the next phase of her life began.

For the most part the next few years were loving ones. Judy would get up in the morning and get dressed, and would then go next door and Mrs. Harper would fix her hair. As best anyone could remember Judy and Mrs. Harper kept up this routine for the next three or four years. By that time Judy was able to take care of her own hair care needs. Ever so often, as hairstyles changed, Judy would ask her Father for money and pay a visit to her neighborhood beauty shop.

Judy had her own room and used to hang up pictures of possible career choices. She still remembers the beautiful poster of the universe she had when she decided she wanted to become an astronomer.

Judy's brother Donnie had joined the Air Force before their mother died. So Judy had never seen this brother until he flew in one evening on the way to Japan. Judy recalls the evening went something like this: "Judy, this is your brother, Donnie Pat. It's way past your bedtime. Say goodnight and go on to bed." I think Judy was in the sixth grade. She never saw Donnie again until he came back home to join Judy and their brother Bobby to arrange their Father's funeral. Now Bobby also joined the military while Judy was still living in San Saba. But he used to come home on leave every few months so he was more familiar to Judy.

On 4 May 1959, a Monday, Judy's Father told her he was tired and was going to bed early. Judy was lying on the sofa in the living room watching the TV that her brother Bobby had bought for her and her Father some months prior. He warned her not to fall asleep on the sofa because the next day was a school day. Of course Judy promptly fell asleep as he had warned her not to. But she woke some time in the night, got up, turned off the TV, and went to bed. In the morning she got up and got ready to go to school. Her Father still wasn't up so she went in to kiss him goodbye and let him know she was leaving for school. When she went to his bedroom and bent over to kiss his cheek his face was very cold. She called out to him over and over and then ran for the front door. About the time Judy reached the door she found Mrs. Harper, her neighbor, there. Mrs. Harper said she had heard Judy screaming and had come running over to see what was wrong. Judy calmed down a little with Mrs. Harper there. She told her she found her Father cold when she went in to kiss him goodbye that morning. Mrs. Harper took Judy outside and had her sit down on the porch steps while she went back inside. After a few minutes she came back outside and told Judy that her Father had passed away and Judy needed to come home with her.

On that day, 5 May 1959, Judy was 14 years, 6 months old. She was never allowed to set foot in her own home again.

After her father's funeral Judy was sent to live in Schenectady, New York with her brother Donnie who was married and had a family. To Judy it was like crash landing in a foreign country. For example, in Schenectady you would never drop by to see a friend with out calling first. In laid-back Texas Judy and her friends were in and out of each other's homes all the time. Also, even the language was different. Instead of a purse you carried a pocketbook, etc. Despite the "fish out of water" feel of her time in Schenectady, Judy enjoyed her school years there.

The summer between her Junior and Senior years Judy moved back to Texas. Her brother had made arrangements for Judy to stay with her Aunt Hermalea and cousin Janice who was just a year younger than Judy. So she packed up all her worldly goods in a foot locker and boarded a train for San Antonio. It took 2 1/2 days for her train to make the journey from Schenectady, NY to San Antonio, TX. It was the first real taste of independence Judy had ever experienced and she really didn't know what to make of it.

Her Aunt Hermalea and cousin Janice met her on her arrival and they drove straight back to their home. At the time Aunt Hermalea was married to a military man named Bill who was stationed overseas somewhere, but Judy never learned his last name. In their home it was just Bill did this and Bill said that, etc. It was clear that Aunt Hermalea loved him and Janice adored him. They could hardly wait for him to come back home. Judy enrolled herself in Sam Houston High School as a senior and settled down to begin living again. It was 1962.

Over Labor Day weekend Aunt Lea (as she preferred to be called) asked if they would like to go to Santa Anna, TX to visit her parents and Janice and Judy's grandparents. Of course they told her they'd love to and off they went. It was the first time Judy had seen them since her father's funeral four years earlier and she was overjoyed. Janice said every time she came to visit her grandparents she always called a boy she knew and he would come over. This time she would tell him to bring a friend. The friend he brought was named Bobby Joe Wardlow.

After they returned to San Antonio Judy assumed she would probably not see Bobby again except perhaps on some future visit to Santa Anna. But on her birthday in early November Bobby and his friend drove down to San Antonio. Judy was very surprised and very pleased. Her heart was telling her that she liked this young man very much. She thinks they went to the movies, she and Bobby and Janice and his friend, but she's not sure. She and Janice and Aunt Lea made another trip to Santa Anna for another, longer visit for Thanksgiving. During that visit Judy and Bobby spent as much time as possible together.





Sources

  • Birth Certificate, Judy Luann Goodman, Page 339, Vol 9, of the Records of Births of Coleman County, Texas.
  • Personal recollection by Bobby Guinn Goodman.
  • Marriage Certificate Charles Goodman and Jewel Dorsey Bilbrey
  • Death Certificate Jewel Dorsey Bilbrey
  • Marriage Certificate Charles Sionhoff Goodman and Grace B. Lee
  • Divorce Decree Charles Sionhoff Goodman and Grace B. Lee
  • Marriage Certificate Charles Sionhoff Goodman and Atha Harper
  • Death Certificate Charles Sionhoff Goodman




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Comments: 77

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Hi Judy,

I’ve not heard back from you regarding the US Southern Colonies Project so have gone ahead and removed you from the project for now. However, if you’d like to rejoin at any stage you would be most welcome to do so by answering the G2G sign-up post here.

Many thanks,

Susie :-)

posted by Susie MacLeod
Hi Judy,

I sent you a message a week ago to let you know about the exciting changes in the US Southern Colonies Project to ask you about your continued involvement but have no yet heard back from you. Do you still want to be in the project? If so, which team(s) would you like to be on and please can you private message me with your e-mail address so I can get you added to the project’s Google Group?

If I don’t hear from you by the same time next week I’ll assume that you’ve moved on to other things but you’d be most welcome to re-join the project at any time.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Best wishes,

Susie - US Southern Colonies Co-Leader

posted by Susie MacLeod
Hi Judy,

As you may have seen, we have been doing some restructuring in the US Southern Colonies Project and are now organising ourselves into different teams. We have also changed the criteria for membership. Please have a look at the new project pages, and let me know whether you would like to remain in the project and, if so, which team(s) you would like to be in.

Please can you also send me your e-mail address. I can then make sure you are introduced to your Team Leaders and are in the Google Group.

Please note that it is a requirement for membership in the US Southern Colonies Project that you respond to these check-ins. We’re really excited for the future of the project and hope that you decide to be a part of it with us moving forwards.

Many thanks,

Susie, US Southern Colonies Project Co-Leader

posted by Susie MacLeod
Hi Judy,

We haven’t heard back from you concerning the Scottish Clans Transition. If we haven’t received a response from you by 29 March 2020, you will be welcome to rejoin by answering the current g2g thread for joining the Scotland Project.

Best Regards,

Sarah Mason, Scotland PC

posted by Sarah Mason
Hello

My name is Amy. I'm a co-Leader of the Scotland Project. As you may have heard, we have merged the Scottish Clans project into the Scotland Project. I am contacting you today to find out if you are interested in continuing with us under this new format. If you would like to go forward on the Scottish Clans Team, please reply and let me know which clans you have been working on or would like to work on. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Amy Gilpin

posted by Amy (Crawford) Gilpin
Hello, Judy,

We are sorry to lose you as a member of the Military and War Project, but we understand that life gets busy and interests shift. Please know that you will always be welcome to rejoin the project in the future if you wish.

Thank you so much for your participation; we genuinely appreciate it.

Deb ~ Volunteer Coordinator

posted by Deb (Lewis) Durham
Hi Judy,

On behalf of the Connectors Project Leaders, we are doing a six-month check-in with members. Please let us know if you are still active. If you are active, please let us know in which ways you are currently contributing to the project.

All of us at WikiTree would like to thank you for your contributions and hope that you are enjoying exploring your roots.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Michelle ~ Volunteer Coordinator

Hello, Judy,

It has been a couple of weeks since we contacted you about your participation in the Military and War Project, and we are following up to make sure you wish to remain a member.

If you wish to remain, please let us know how you have been contributing to the tasks and goals of the project or any of its sub-projects recently, it would be very helpful to the leaders.

If we do not hear back from you within the week, we will assume you have moved on to other things and remove you from the project. You will always be welcome to rejoin should your interests shift back in this direction.

Thank you,

Deb ~ Volunteer Coordinator

posted by Deb (Lewis) Durham
Hello, Judy,

On behalf of the Military and War Project Leaders, we are doing a six-month check-in with members.

First, we want to thank you for your past participation in the project. We appreciate your desire to honor your ancestors for their service to their countries, or even for your service, wherever in the world. We hope that your membership has enhanced your WikiTree experience.

Please let me know, by commenting on my profile or sending a private message, if you are still active in the project, and if so, in a general sense how you may have contributed to the main project or any sub-projects within the last couple months.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Deb ~ Volunteer Coordinator

posted by Deb (Lewis) Durham
Hi judy,

On behalf of the US Southern Colonies Project Leaders, I am doing a check-in with members to see if you were Active in US Southern Colonies in the last two months?

Have you joined the subproject, Southern_Pioneers Project?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Mary ~ Volunteer Coordinator

posted by Mary Richardson
Hi Judy,

We sent you a message a while ago about your current status as Project Coordinator and have not yet heard back from you. If we don’t hear from you in the next week we will assume you no longer wish to continue as a Project Coordinator on WikiTree at this time, but you are welcome to get back in touch with your Project Leaders to have your badge reinstated.

Many thanks,

Susie and Eowyn

posted by Susie MacLeod
Hi Judy,

I’m working with Eowyn to check-in with everyone holding the Project Coordinator badge to make sure we have the most up-to-date information. As a Project Coordinator badge holder, please can you let me know which project(s) you are currently coordinating and if you have a specific role as coordinator in those projects?

Many thanks,

Susie

posted by Susie MacLeod
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! I have removed the Categorization badge and you are welcome to rejoin any time in the future if you wish!

Cheers, Natalie

posted by Natalie (Durbin) Trott
Hi Judy,

I’m Natalie, leader of the Categorization Project. Please have a look at the revamped Categorization Project page, specifically about the new team approach. Members will be now be part of the Maintenance Team. Project Liaisons and leaders will be involved in the Vision and Collaboration team. Please contact me within the next week to let me know if you would like to remain an active member of the project. If I don’t hear back from you I will assume you no longer want to be a part of the Categorization Project. Thanks, Natalie

posted by Natalie (Durbin) Trott
Judy,

I apologize for the wait on that profile! My 5 year old granddaughter wore me out and I forget everything the next day due to sore muscles!!

That’s a great profile!! Thanks for the reminder message!

posted by Paula J

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Categories: Coleman County, Texas | Paris, Texas | Lamar County, Texas | San Saba County, Texas | Clan Stewart