Judy K. Tinsley died in the early morning hours of September 24, 2025. Born October 31, 1947 to Horace E. Watkins, Jr. and Dorothy L. Coan Watkins, Judy was reared in the Panhandle of Texas. She had fond memories of her early childhood living in Amarillo. The summer before her seventh grade year, she, with her family, relocated to Pampa, Texas where she blossomed into a vibrant, talented, and beautiful teenager. She attended Junior High and High Schools where she distinguished herself singing in the school choirs and many choral productions. Until the day she died, Judy had a beautiful alto voice.
Upon graduation from Pampa High School, she studied for two years at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. Before her junior year, she decided to return to Pampa to join the work force in a local pharmacy and to help with the family business as she could.
Judy married Fred H. Tinsley, Jr. in June of 1969, her best friend from the time she first arrived in Pampa. From that point forward, Judy, figuratively and quite literally, supported Fred while he pursued a degree from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Oklahoma. During their time at OU, Judy was the secretary to the Chair of the Civil Engineering Department in the School of Engineering. Her career path led her to work at a private school in Sewanee, Tennessee, supporting the family while Fred attended the School of Theology at the University of the South. Her commitment to making a vital contribution to her family’s care and feeding as a working spouse and mother exposed her to a variety of interesting and demanding jobs. She worked for a rather infamous savings and loan bank in Vernon, Texas; Judy managed multiple medical and dental practices; she became a legal secretary; then she spent her last eleven years in the work force as a Judicial Assistant to two federal judges. In the midst of these various and sundry jobs, Judy’s most enduring feat was her steadfast, selfless, and uncompromising support of her spouse’s work in the church. She was, in fact, the consummate clergy spouse and cheerleader.
Judy is survived by her spouse of fifty six years, the Reverend Fred H. Tinsley, Jr., her two daughters, Stephanie Jill Tinsley Grayson and her partner Michael Patrick Springer of Austin, Texas, and Amanda Suzanne Tinsley and her husband Kurt Decker of Victoria, Texas. She is also survived by two grandchildren, Coan Lang and Julia Haley Grayson, both students at Texas Tech.
In the late autumn of her years, Judy became afflicted with Lewy Body dementia in addition to Parkinsonism which, in combination, severely compromised her cognitive ability and her mobility. Here her family wishes to express our deepest gratitude to Ms. Alice Ross, Judy’s longtime caregiver from Home Instead, for her compassionate care and tireless attention to our loved one. We also want to acknowledge the empathetic and sensitive work of her Harbor Hospice team, Ashley, Melissa, Janet, Brianna, David, and Carey. All of these people mentioned above helped to ensure every day Judy was alive would be the very best day of her life. They succeeded and, for that, we cannot thank them enough.
The Burial Rite for Judy Tinsley will be held at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Victoria, Texas on Friday, October 10, 2025, at three o’clock in the afternoon with the Reverend Stephen Carson presiding. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you send a memorial to St. Francis Episcopal Church, to Harbor Hospice, to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, or to a favorite charity of your choosing.
David Fain
Obituary for Judy K. Watkins Tinsley
Judy K. Tinsley died in the early morning hours of September 24, 2025. Born October 31, 1947 to Horace E. Watkins, Jr. and Dorothy L. Coan Watkins, Judy was reared in the Panhandle of Texas. She had fond memories of her early childhood living in Amarillo. The summer before her seventh grade year, she, with her family, relocated to Pampa, Texas where she blossomed into a vibrant, talented, and beautiful teenager. She attended Junior High and High Schools where she distinguished herself singing in the school choirs and many choral productions. Until the day she died, Judy had a beautiful alto voice.
Upon graduation from Pampa High School, she studied for two years at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. Before her junior year, she decided to return to Pampa to join the work force in a local pharmacy and to help with the family business as she could.
Judy married Fred H. Tinsley, Jr. in June of 1969, her best friend from the time she first arrived in Pampa. From that point forward, Judy, figuratively and quite literally, supported Fred while he pursued a degree from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Oklahoma. During their time at OU, Judy was the secretary to the Chair of the Civil Engineering Department in the School of Engineering. Her career path led her to work at a private school in Sewanee, Tennessee, supporting the family while Fred attended the School of Theology at the University of the South. Her commitment to making a vital contribution to her family’s care and feeding as a working spouse and mother exposed her to a variety of interesting and demanding jobs. She worked for a rather infamous savings and loan bank in Vernon, Texas; Judy managed multiple medical and dental practices; she became a legal secretary; then she spent her last eleven years in the work force as a Judicial Assistant to two federal judges. In the midst of these various and sundry jobs, Judy’s most enduring feat was her steadfast, selfless, and uncompromising support of her spouse’s work in the church. She was, in fact, the consummate clergy spouse and cheerleader.
Judy is survived by her spouse of fifty six years, the Reverend Fred H. Tinsley, Jr., her two daughters, Stephanie Jill Tinsley Grayson and her partner Michael Patrick Springer of Austin, Texas, and Amanda Suzanne Tinsley and her husband Kurt Decker of Victoria, Texas. She is also survived by two grandchildren, Coan Lang and Julia Haley Grayson, both students at Texas Tech.
In the late autumn of her years, Judy became afflicted with Lewy Body dementia in addition to Parkinsonism which, in combination, severely compromised her cognitive ability and her mobility. Here her family wishes to express our deepest gratitude to Ms. Alice Ross, Judy’s longtime caregiver from Home Instead, for her compassionate care and tireless attention to our loved one. We also want to acknowledge the empathetic and sensitive work of her Harbor Hospice team, Ashley, Melissa, Janet, Brianna, David, and Carey. All of these people mentioned above helped to ensure every day Judy was alive would be the very best day of her life. They succeeded and, for that, we cannot thank them enough.
The Burial Rite for Judy Tinsley will be held at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Victoria, Texas on Friday, October 10, 2025, at three o’clock in the afternoon with the Reverend Stephen Carson presiding. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you send a memorial to St. Francis Episcopal Church, to Harbor Hospice, to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, or to a favorite charity of your choosing.