If you have gone to one of our Pokeno nights chances are you know Judy. She has an infectious laugh and brings a wonderful energy to Celina Ladies and Friends. Here is more information that Judy shared with us.
How long have you lived in the Celina area? Jeff and I have lived in Celina since July 2017.
What brought you here? We moved from Austin, which had changed a lot in the 55 years I lived there. Our location search took 3 years and we looked all over the Central, South and the North Texas areas. We had decided in earnest on The Woodlands area because our son, his wife and their 2 ¾ year old son live there, but we just could not find the perfect neighborhood. We have friends and family in the area and our daughter-in-law grew up in Frisco and we had been coming up here since 2009. We looked all around the area, and on a lark, drove into the Mustang Lakes neighborhood before any houses had even closed. That day I told Jeff, ‘This is it, we are moving here!’ The hope is Tyler, Natalie and Jackson will move up here one day!
What is your favorite thing about Celina? The atmosphere is ‘wonderfully warm’ and the area is vast and open, but I realize that will change when everyone else finds the area. A traffic jam is 3 cars at a stop sign and you can get to 6 or 7 other fascinating towns in 20 minutes.
What do you like about Celina Ladies & Friends? On one of our first Friday nights up here, Jeff’s brother and his wife took us to the Celina Square. There was a table with a friendly group of ladies and I asked them what was a’ Celina Lady and Friend’? Melynne explained that you played Pokeno, got together for brunches and supported service projects, etc. I said “OK, sign me up!’ and the rest is history. What a fun, great group of people that all ended up in this area, from everywhere! Being a part of this group made me feel like I ‘actually belonged’ to our new Celina community!
Tell me about your family? I have been married to Jeff for 30 years and we have one happy only child, Tyler Strawmyer. Tyler went to Texas Tech, met and married Natalie and they have one child, Jackson.
Tell us about your job/businesses? I graduated from Texas Tech - Secondary Education (Math/Biology) and I taught 3 years. (It was fun until the children came in every morning. Just kidding.) Computer programming was getting to be really big, so my friend and I took computer classes at Austin Community College and I became a programmer at the State Comptroller of Public Accounts where I worked for 26 years and retired 13 years ago.
What do you want people to know about you? I am a joiner. I love to be around people, volunteer and visit with everyone.
If you could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance at winning a medal for? Arts and Crafts!
What is the luckiest thing that has happened to you? 2 things: I went to Texas Tech and began to experience true West Texas hospitality in 1973 (and then I endured living in that other college town for 45 years, where I met and married Jeff!) Then we moved!
Who inspires you? My faith and everyone I have met in my life inspire me, one way or another! Everyday is a wonderful, brand new day to be alive (now in Celina, Texas!)