Judith Ann Beal Owings Calderwood was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She lived in Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. She died May 1, 2020 at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Private services will be held at Rockco Funeral Home in Centreville with Brother Kenneth Fuller of Centreville Baptist Church officiating. Burial will be at the Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Alabama on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.
Judy graduated from Tuscaloosa High School in 1964 and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from The University of Alabama in 1968; her Master of Education degree from Livingston University in 1969 and Educational Specialist degree from the University of Alabama in 1972. She began her teaching career at Kate Griffin Junior High School in Meridian, Mississippi in 1968 and continued teaching at Bibb County High School in Centreville, Alabama in 1969 until her retirement in 1999. Judy loved her specialty field of Biology and she touched the lives of hundreds of students during her teaching career inspiring many of them with her love of science.
Judy loved to travel and during the early years, her family spent many summer breaks camping across the United States and Canada, visiting 43 states, five provinces of Canada and Mexico. She also visited many countries, including England, most European Countries and traveled on all the continents except Antarctica.
Over the years she was involved in the Cahaba River Society, Cahaba Lily Foundation, Lunch Bunch Ladies, Educational lectures on her travels, Science Fairs and Centreville Baptist Church Choir. Traveling, photography, collecting foreign currency, sands of the world, fossils, collecting butterflies and insects and archeological digs were a few of her interests. She applied to be one of the first teacher astronauts in space and was selected as a finalist for Alabama.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John Freeman Beal and Vietta Ann Angier Beal. Survivors include: her husband, William Benson Calderwood, Brent, Alabama; her children, Deborah Kay Owings, Brent, Alabama and Gregory Thomas Owings (Robin), Vestavia Hills, Alabama; grandchildren, Dylan Thomas Owings and Hannah Lee Owings; sister Patricia Beal Brown (James) Macon, Georgia; nephew, Christopher Lowell Beal Brown, Richmond, Virginia; Thomas Gene Owings, Brent, Alabama and many other relatives, friends and of course her constant companion, Trixie. Special thanks to the doctors and nurses at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for caring for our wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend in such a difficult situation and time. Memorials may be made to the Cahaba River Society, Centreville Baptist Church or the charity of your choice.