Judith ("Judy") Carolyn Holman Rust's Obituary
Judith (“Judy”) Carolyn Holman Rust
Judy Holman Rust, a longtime resident of Garland, passed away unexpectedly (non-COVID related) in Plano, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. She was 76. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer (Rust) Fortner and Dale Fortner, and grandchildren Lindsey Grace Fortner and Wesley Bennett Fortner, all of Plano; her brother and sister-in-law, Alan and Susan Holman, of Austin; and her niece and nephew, Emily Holman Ladha of Cambridge, Ma., and Daniel Holman of Washington, D.C. Judy was preceded in death by her parents, Joe and Julia Holman of Garland, and by her younger daughter, Jacqueline Juliat Rust.
Judy was born in Mesa, Arizona, on March 16, 1944, while her father, a Lt. in the Army Air Force, was stationed at nearby Chandler Field. Following the war, Judy and her parents relocated to Acworth, Georgia where they lived with her grandparents. After her brother Alan’s birth, Joe found a career opportunity in Texas and the family moved to Garland in 1949. Judy started school at Freeman Elementary and graduated from Garland High School in 1962.
After starting her own career, including working as a stewardess for American Airlines, Judy married James Wesley Rust in 1968. James was a football coach whose career frequently moved them from city to city. By 1970, they moved to the east Texas community of Pittsburg where later they started their family. The family of four happily resided here until 1980, when the couple divorced, and Judy and the girls moved back to Garland.
Judy was a resilient woman who faced and overcame repeated challenges, including raising two girls as a single mother, one with special needs. She always managed to find and enjoy the simple pleasures in life such as reading, watching movies, crocheting, and traveling. Judy never met a stranger and spoke with a unique ‘Texas by the way of Georgia’ accent. She was a loving mother, a very proud grandmother, an attentive and helpful daughter to her parents as they aged, a much beloved sister and aunt, and a loyal and fun-loving friend. She will be greatly missed by those she leaves behind.
In the coming days, the family will hold a private graveside observance where Judy will be interred alongside her parents and daughter.
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