Judith Taylor Lancaster passed on March 22, 2021 surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Huntsville, Alabama on May 5th, 1945 while her father was working at the arsenal during the war. Shortly after her birth, when the war ended, the family returned to their home in Irwington, Georgia, where she was raised.
Judye loved small town life and excelled in school as well as extracurricular activities. She was a cheerleader, Homecoming Queen, Forestry Queen and Miss Wilkinson County.
After high school, she graduated from The Women's College of Georgia and accepted a teaching job in Atlanta, Georgia at Henry Grady High School. There, she taught Martin Luther King's daughter, Yolanda and became friends with the King family. She also taught Julia Roberts and her brother Eric.
While teaching at Grady, she also studied at Emory University but passed up finishing her Masters degree when she married a boy from Oklahoma, Eddie Lancaster. They lived in the same apartment complex and for Eddie it was love at first sight but our Judye took a little more time!
They were married in Atlanta in 1972 and in 1976, their first son, Dr. Taylor Lancaster was born. They were immediately transferred to Washington DC, which was quite a culture shock to a girl that had never lived anywhere except Georgia. She gave up teaching to pursue her first love- her son. After almost two years, it was time to transfer to Cities Service headquarters in Tulsa in 1978. Their second son Austin, was born in Tulsa in 1980. Judye was in her element raising her two sons.
As the boys grew, she became the ultimate boy's mom with football, baseball, basketball, soccer etc. Both her sons played on state championship football teams at Jenks, and she was the consummate team mom while loving every minute of it. She introduced her famous cheese grits at a team breakfast and they immediately became a Jenks tradition.
After 19 years of being a mother, her sons left for college and she returned to her second love, teaching at Jenks Alternative School where she was a perfect fit. Every year at graduation there would be numerous students telling her how much they appreciated her not allowing them to quit school and get their degree.
She loved her students (and they knew it) but, she practiced "tough love." They nicknamed her the "OG" and referred to her as the "Forked Tongue Southern Devil Woman" while always asking her to repeat words that highlighted her very prominent southern accent.
Judye had great affection for Georgia and made sure her sons visited annually. Their trips to Tybee Island were epic. Over the past 40 plus years, the beach houses they took over grew larger as the family grew with wives and grandchildren. She made sure her grandchildren familiarized themselves with their JUJU's roots. Everyone always looked forward to the traditional Low Country Boil filled with fresh seafood prepared Georgia style.
As she did as a mother, JUJU was an adoring grandmother to her grandchildren and they adored her. Any time the family was together when they were babies they were in JUJU's lap and as they grew, they were glued to her side.
Besides her sons and their families her great love was OU and Georgia football. She never missed a game, especially the Alumni weekend at OU with Eddie and the boys. Over the years she became good friends with Barry Switzer. Barry used to tell Eddie he married above himself and no one argued that!
She had a great mixture of Southern charm and brutal truth. One of Eddie's closest friends would say she could tell you to go to Hell and make it sound nice!
Judye will be put to rest in her beloved Tybee, Georgia in a family ceremony this summer.
She is survived by her husband of 48 years Eddie Lancaster of Tulsa; son, Dr. Taylor Lancaster, his wife Heidi and their two children Caroline and Jackson of Norman; son, Austin, his wife Melissa and their two children Laina and Peyton of Tulsa; and numerous other family members and friends.
JUJU's family would like to thank everyone for the amazing outpouring of condolence on her passing and sharing their personal stories of this special Southern Belle. She will be missed but never forgotten.
The family is establishing a foundation at Jenks Alternative School in her memory to assist students in career opportunities.