Judith Lea Atkins, 82, of Cabool, Missouri, passed away surrounded by her children, after an extended illness, on Friday, September 6, 2024, at Kabul Nursing Home in Cabool, Missouri.
Judy was born in Springfield, Missouri, on June 20, 1942, to Titus (Maynard) and Edith Delaney. She was the oldest of 3 girls. Judy grew up on a farm just outside Cabool, Missouri, where she graduated from high school in 1960.
On June 18, 1960, she married the love of her life and high school sweetheart, William James Atkins. They were married 60 years, and together they raised 4 children. In fact, her oldest daughter was born on her 20th birthday.
Mom worked various jobs, and when her children were born, she became a stay-at-home mom, though she would still work various part-time and seasonal jobs to help make ends meet. After a move to Cabool from their home in Arnold, MO, she took on the role of farm manager, handling all of the various farming chores when Dad was out on the road. When her children were grown, she worked full-time as a truck dispatcher, which greatly complemented her husband’s work as a truck driver.
She loved checking her cows, working in her garden, and growing beautiful flowers. She also enjoyed teaching children’s Sunday school classes. She was a true creative and artist, sketching and painting many beautiful landscapes and oil paintings which will forever be treasured by her children. Mom had a fantastic green thumb; she could grow just about anything and was known as the family “violet whisperer,” able to bring back to life any of her daughters’ various violet plants.
Mom and Dad loved to travel together, both in the truck out on the open road, and then in their camper in their later years. Together they went on many adventures, two of their favorite places to visit being Montana and Alaska. They also loved taking the family camping, especially at Sand Mountain Bible Camp in Georgia.
She enjoyed spending time with her kids and grandkids, and especially loved watching her grandkids in their various sports and activities; in her later years when she wasn’t able to attend in person, she’d watch the games on YouTube. She loved to watch Christmas movies, the Waltons, and Little House on the Prairie; and there’s probably not a Grace Livingston Hill book she hasn’t read.
Judith was preceded in death by her husband, William James Atkins, and her parents, Titus (Maynard) and Edith Delaney, as well as beloved grandparents, aunts, and uncles.
She is survived by her four children, Sara J. Postlethwait, Nina J. Law (Troy Law), William J. Atkins, Jr., and Melissa J. Lockcuff (Dan Lockcuff). She is also survived by eighteen grandchildren, fourteen great grandchildren, and by her sisters, Betty Akers (Wilbur Akers) and Nancy Flowers (Greg Flowers).
