Linthicum Specialties
“Ribbon, baskets, floral supplies, enclosure cards, prom supplies, balloons and cellophane, etc.”
(An SBA Minority/Woman Owned Business)
R.I.P.
Judy Linthicum Howard
January 3, 1944 — July 2, 2019
She was a strong woman. She was a devoted woman. And she was a caring woman.
I know all of this to be true, because with over 53-years of marriage, you have a fairly strong insight into someone’s character, personality, and wherewithal.
Born in Houston, Texas, Judy’s family moved around a bit in her early years due to her dad’s employment with Sears Roebuck. Graduating from Thomas Jefferson HS in Dallas, she attended the University of North Texas, before transferring to Lamar University where she graduated in 1966.
It was at Lamar where Judy, as president of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, bloomed and made many lifelong friends. Her sorority “little sister,” Waldo, is one individual who still maintained frequent contact. And it has been a blessing for Judy to constantly hear from her.
(As a side note, Lamar is where Judy and I started dating. This was after meeting…while water skiing one Sunday on Cows Bayou in Bridge City.)
Shortly after graduating from Lamar, Judy returned to Irving to assist her family, who owned the local Ben Franklin store, run the business. Also during this time, she attended the University of North Texas and completed all of the requirements for her teaching certificate. Her student teaching was completed at MacArthur High School in Irving.
In 1966, I was in the Navy and about to be deployed, aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt - CVA 42, which was bound for the Tonkin Gulf in Viet Nam. Taking a week’s leave, I came to Irving, proposed to Judy at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor in Dallas, and we immediately went to Port Arthur for our families to plan a wedding. We were married on June 11, 1966. And on such short notice, we had over 200 guests — college friends, fraternity and sorority members, and a plethora of my Cajun family members — attending the wedding.
After a very brief honeymoon, I shipped out, and Judy returned to Irving to run the family business.
After my hitch in the service, we settled in Irving starting in 1968.
After 25-years, the Ben Franklin store closed…much to the chagrin of many customers. Judy and her mom then started Linthicum Specialties which was a wholesale ribbon and floral supply business.
While this new business venture started off slow, it soon grew to include sales to florist and dog groomers through out Dallas and Tarrant County. And a significant reason the business succeeded was Judy’s keen attention to customer needs, providing prompt delivery of merchandise, and ensuring customers she could assist them with any supply needs they required.
Later, after her mother’s health declined, our son Patrick joined the business and worked along side Judy. Our daughter, who was a special needs teacher and now a diagnostician for the GCISD, managed, in her spare time, to assist Judy with the business by providing recommendations for quality and style of merchandise to carry.
The business continued to be successful, even when two of her larger corporate accounts, Tom Thumb and Kroger Stores, began allowing “desk jockeys,” with little or no experience in running their floral departments, to make buying decisions. And as a result, the corporate “desk jockeys” didn’t realize they should be serving customer needs when their profit margins shrank.
The business continued to run smoothly even during all the serious health issues Judy faced starting in 2017.
After being diagnosed with breast cancer, she spent the 2018 year recovering from chemo therapy, surgery, and radiation treatments. These issues also required two significant stays in the hospital and were followed by rehabilitation to improve her mobility and strength.
Early in 2019, she was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her brain. This was removed and another round of radiation occurred. While recovering from all of this, she later had such weak resistance and strength that she required additional hospital attention and therapy.
Early in 2019, she was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her brain. This was removed and another round of radiation occurred. While recovering from all of this, she later had such weak resistance and strength that she required additional hospital attention and therapy.
Just when it appeared she would complete therapy and return home, she pulled her back. It was diagnosed that she had two fractured age-related vertebrae. The pain and disappointment to returning home was unparalleled. MRIs, x-rays, pain medicines, and her other prescription medications for A-fib, helped her fight these issues. However, the trauma soon caused her health and mobility to once again deteriorate. All this allowed other issues to unfold — anemia, kidney failure, A-fib bouncing up and down, and C.diff, plus a pneumonia infection. This multitude of potholes slowly began to crack her spirits and soul.
Throughout all these health ordeals, Judy did remain strong willed and fought every medical shortcoming which popped up like a new pothole on the roadway to better health.
The family assisted Judy 24/7 during all of her hospital and rehabilitation stays. It will be difficult for me to ever thank Patrick and Jennifer enough for their commitment to their mom, the dedication of their time spent attending to her needs, and the changing of their schedules and lives for these efforts. Two greater kids could not be found!
This is a picture of Judy’s “Attendant Team” prior to her brain surgery at Baylor Scott/White - Dallas.
While all of this may seem like too much information, I just wanted all of Judy’s friends, family, sorority sisters, customers, and the great nursing staff at Irving Baylor Scott-White CCU to know how much we appreciated their thoughts, concerns, and prayers.
I know Judy would like for me to also convey this message to the Director of Nursing at Irving Baylor Scott/White hospital, Scott Williams, and his tremendous staff Team of nurses, technicians, attendants, and also the housekeeping and food service crews. It was a very bumpy road this past week, but all of these individuals helped us manage the potholes by their professionalism, concern, and remarkable skills. Irving is truly blessed to have such a tremendous health care facility as Irving Baylor Scott-White in the city!
We will always remember Judy along with: the almost “mandatory” Sunday family lunches; the Saturday lunches to explore new eating establishments in the area; Friday dinners with the Misfits; free appetizers at Po’ Melvin’s; the Christmas dinner parties at Dunston’s; “celebrating” holidays and birthdays in the hospital or rehabilitation center; goat yoga as a birthday present; landing a new account for the business; trips to market for advancing new business products for serving customer needs, Cindi's Deli in Dallas, and the thoughts and prayers of friends and associates who helped hold us up during these trying times.
The sad truth has now become apparent to the Howard family…even the strongest cannot overcome the forces of unrelenting health issues. But during Judy’s ordeals, she vigorously fought back. While being treated for these health maladies, she never gave up, or stopped fighting.
It has been Hell for the past two weeks, but today Heaven won the battle with a true warrior.
And for this, she will never be forgotten, and our love for her will never diminish.
Sincerely,
Patrick, Jennifer, and Mike Howard
