Judith Stringham

Judith Ann Elkins Stringham passed away on January 17, 2025, in Mansfield Texas , of natural causes. She was a faithful member of Pleasant Ridge Church of Christ in Arlington, TX and fully believed in Christ's promises of a heavenly home with no pain and no sorrow.

Judy was born March 1, 1947, in Huntsville, Alabama, the first-born of four children of Thomas Allen Elkins and Annie Elizabeth Elkins. Being first-born was the beginning of several firsts in her life.

After graduating in 1969 from Florence State University, Florence, Alabama, with a mathematics degree, Judy was hired as one of the first two female computer programmers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. In 1971, she began a career as a mathematics teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, and devoted her professional life to making a difference in the lives of thousands of students for thirty-seven years. In 1989, Judy graduated from University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, with a master's degree in mathematics.

On July 1, 1972, Judy married David Roy Stringham, from Houston, Texas, who was studying Hebrew at the Defense Institute Language School in Alexandria, Virginia while serving in the U. S. Navy. They were married for thirty-seven years, and David remained the love of her life until her death.

Judy considered working with David and supporting him in his decision to be the first Hebrew translator for the World Bible Translation Center (WBTC) to be the greatest accomplishment of her life. While serving in the Navy on Cyprus, David and Judy met Greek scholar Ervin Bishop who introduced them to the newly begun WBTC in Arlington, Texas. Judy and David saw the providence of God in their lives leading them to be part of WBTC. The new translation center used computers to complete Bible translations written on a first to third grade reading level in a fraction of the time required by other Biblical translation organizations. For thirty-one years David served as the senior Hebrew Translator. His last three years with WBTC he also concurrently served as the Director of African Translations.

Proverbs 31:10-12, 17, 23, 30-31

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life... She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks...She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy...Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land...Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Just as David was "called" to translate the Bible, Judy was "called" to teach mathematics to high school students. She began teaching mathematics in Fairfax County Virginia in 1971. Then she was a

mathematics teacher in Leander and Austin, Texas in 1973-1977 while David studied for B.A. and

M.A. degrees in Hebrew and Judaical Studies from the University of Texas in Austin. After moving to Arlington, Texas in 1978, Judy taught mathematics in Grand Prairie and Arlington, Texas. She realized one of her professional dreams to be part of the first faculty of a new high school by being a charter faculty member of James Martin High School in Arlington in 1982. In 2001, Judy was named assistant principal at Martin High School.

Instead of retiring in 2006 as originally planned, Judy became the first Advanced Academics Coordinator in the newly created district level Advanced Academics Department in Arlington Independent School District. She coordinated the gifted and talented programs for students in K-12 including Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, and academic competitions such as Spelling Bee, UIL Academic Contests, and Academic Decathlon - until she retired in 2009.

Highlights in her career include hosting a foreign exchange student from Thailand for six months, helping develop the first remediation math classes for students in Austin who did not meet district requirements for graduation, developing and teaching a one-semester History of Mathematics course at Sam Houston High School, writing an ancillary for teachers explaining how to teach geometric proofs for McDougal-Littel Publishing company to include with its geometry books, being selected Teacher of the Year at Martin High School, field-testing a precalculus book with five honors' precalculus classes at Martin High School for Key Curriculum Press Publishing company, co-authoring the teacher's guide that accompanied Paul Foerster's Precalculus textbook for Key Curriculum Press Publishing company, and creating the first new teacher's mentoring program led by an assistant principal at Martin High School.

After retiring from education, she served as the Region VIII Coordinator for the Texas Academic Decathlon Regional Contest from 2011 to 2016. Also in 2011, she started a small part-time business, Botanic Bleu, to offer French-inspired Christmas and decor accents for the garden and home. From 2011 until her death, she wrote a web log (blog) also named Botanic Bleu, in which she shared French- inspired home décor, gardening tips, and moments from her travels in France.

But she spent the majority of her time with her family, more than what was possible while working full time. Retirement allowed her time to travel to her home state Alabama for extended lengths of time to be with her mother, brothers, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She spent most of her time with her beloved sister Karen, who with her husband Chuck, lived with Judy in Texas from 2012. Karen was her lifelong best friend with whom she shared a love of flowers, movies, science fiction, tarte aux fraise (French strawberry tarts), travel, especially to France, - and a well-kept secret from her students... laughing!

She was preceded in death by her father, Thomas Allen Elkins; her mother, Annie Elizabeth Elkins; her brothers, Timothy Allen Elkins and Thomas Keith Elkins. Survivors include sister Karen Lynn Mitchell, (Charles); sisters-in-law Angela Cofield Elkins and Jamie Miller Elkins; beloved Uncle Ray, Uncle Ralph, Aunt Norma, , Cousin Missy, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins; and a host of treasured educational colleagues, friends, former students, and fellow Christians. ,

Judy is going home to Alabama to be buried in Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama, within a short distance of one of her brothers - leaving behind the scorching sun of Texas summers and returning to rest under tall shade trees and pink and white dogwoods of Alabama.