Judy Marie Tibbetts (née Carmichael), age 72, of St. Louis, Missouri, passed away on Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, surrounded by her husband and daughter. She was preceded in death by her parents, Archie Wilbur Carmichael and Marie Antoinette Carmichael (née Rowe). Mrs. Tibbetts (called JuJude by her granddaughter) is survived by her husband, Paul Edward Tibbetts; her daughter, Rachel Kathryn Tibbetts (Brian Dooley); and her granddaughter, Rose Elizabeth Dooley-Tibbetts. She is also survived by her sister, Janice Frase (David) of Fort Worth, Texas; her niece, Blair Martin (Will); and her grandniece and nephew, Ellie and William Martin.

Mrs. Tibbetts was born on May 11th, 1953, in Hillsboro, Texas, and graduated from Hillsboro High School. She attended both Hill Junior College and the University of Texas at Arlington before completing her undergraduate degree at Chapman University. She earned her Master of Behavioral Science at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Judy dedicated her career to serving vulnerable populations, including women at the YWCA women’s shelter, patients seeking care for mental illness, the elderly, and military servicemembers and spouses as a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas. A lifelong Democrat, she was a defender of women’s agency and always spoke up for what was just.

Judy met Paul Tibbetts in 1975 in Denton, Texas, while he was attending North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) and she was attending the University of Texas at Arlington. They met in Spring and were married in Winter. Their wedding took place on December 27th, 1975, at the Ellsworth Air Force Base Chapel in South Dakota. She wore a white skirt suit, and Paul wore his Air Force dress uniform. The chapel was decorated with poinsettias for Christmas, her favorite holiday. Over the course of their marriage, they would live in South Dakota, California, Arizona, the United Kingdom, Florida, California (again), Oklahoma, Texas, and finally Missouri. They welcomed their only daughter, Rachel Kathryn, on April 24th, 1978. Paul and Judy were married for fifty years.

Judy synthesized her globetrotting, service-oriented life through the avenues of speculative fiction, poetry, and meticulous craftwork. A voracious reader, she was a fan of Stephen King, William Wordsworth, Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Emily Brontë, among many others. Her art was one of her greatest strongholds in life, regularly painting landscapes (including Texas Bluebonnets, blue being her favorite color) and lighthouses, building miniatures, practicing needlepoint, decorating, and watching the neighborhood scenery for inspiration. She was grateful for the beauty of the world, and her favorite memories are of Big Sur, California; Venice, Italy; and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Unafraid of appreciating the great work of others, Judy cried at a Monet painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Judy was also a lover of the theatre, regularly taking her daughter to plays. Rachel credits her mother for inspiring her to pursue a career in the arts.

Judy’s father, Archie, was an ordained Baptist minister. She was raised in a life of faith and sought to model her actions after the teachings of Jesus. One of the pillars of her spirituality was her 35 years of sobriety, and she treasured that wisdom until her passing. If Judy is remembered for anything, she would want it to be her vehement desire for a more just world. It is her prayer that such a world may blossom for her treasured granddaughter, Rose. 

A cremation has been arranged through St. Louis Cremation. A Celebration of Life will be June 20, 2026, 1:00 PM, The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive, St. Louis, MO 63105. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the St. Louis-based organization, Safe Connections, 2165 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63139. 

From one of Judy’s favorite Wordsworth Poems, Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

            The Rainbow comes and goes,

                      And lovely is the Rose,

                      The Moon doth with delight

       Look round her when the heavens are bare,

                      Waters on a starry night

                      Are beautiful and fair;

       The sunshine is a glorious birth;

       But yet I know, where’er I go,

That there hath past away a glory from the earth.