Judy Lynn Keplinger

1943-2016

    Judy Lynn Keplinger, age 72, passed away Sunday, February 14, 2016, at Hospice House in Kennewick, Washington, after a year-long bout with cancer. 

   Judy was born 29 December 1943 in Van Nuys, California to William Robert Keplinger and Florence Hope Leeper.  Her family moved to Richland from Steamboat Springs, Colorado about the time she started grade school.  Judy and her brother, Bob, would usually spend their summers on their grandparent’s farm in western Nebraska travelling together on the train.  She graduated from Columbia (Richland) High School in 1961 as a member of the class that had several students that had been among the first to be born and grown up in the Atomic town of Richland.  She attended Washington State University and graduated in 1965 as one of the earliest women to earn a degree in computer technology.

  She started work for General Electric in Richland and worked for them in Arizona before she went to work for Bechtel Corporation, eventually working in their international offices in San Francisco doing their computer implementation.  She had the opportunity of working on various projects for Bechtel in Huntsville, Alabama and on the Caribbean island of Jamaica.  Because of this she had many friends all over the world.

  Travel was always on Judy’s mind.  She was often planning her next trip even before she completed her current one.  She visited every continent except Antarctica.  One of her most enjoyable trips was a “Joint 70^th Birthday Party” with 28 former Richland Bombers and friends on a ten day cruise to the Caribbean.

  Judy retired from Bechtel in 1998 and came home to Richland.  She bought a house with a large yard and garden.  She became a Master Gardner and loved teaching school children about gardens and their beneficial insects whenever she had the opportunity.  She was an active member of several bridge groups. Some weeks she met with two different groups.   She always loved to entertain.  Her home was a gathering place for friends and classmates.

  When she returned to Richland she became the guiding force for all of the subsequent reunions for the Class of 1961.  Her ideas and directing hand will be remembered.  Even just this past month she was saying, “We need to start getting organized for our 55^th.  It is only a few months away”.

  Judy was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Hope, and her brother, Bob.  She is survived by cousins across the country and many dear and special friends.  Judy always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.  She will be missed but never forgotten.

   A celebration of her life will be held at Sunset Memorial Gardens Event Center in Richland, on Friday, March 4, 2016 from 3 to 5 pm.  Memorials may be made to the Judy L. Keplinger Scholarship Fund at Columbia Basin College Foundation, 2600 N. 20^th Ave., Pasco, WA 99301 or to your favorite charity.