Judy Mae Shanks De La Garza, 70, of Kingsville, Texas, passed away on June 11, 2026, surrounded by her loving family following a courageous battle with ALS.  She was born on January 23, 1956, in Kingsville, Texas to Alma D. Cortez-Shanks and Donald Lee Shanks.

Judy’s lifelong aspirations were to be a school teacher, entrepreneur, and property owner. She was able to obtain and transcend all three of these goals which allowed her to touch many lives of the people in her hometown of Kingsville, Texas.

After graduating from Texas A&I University in Kingsville in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, she began her teaching career by creating the first pre-k migrant program at Texas A&I, which allowed hands-on learning experiences with early childhood university students. In 1994, while working at Kleberg Elementary, she brought the community together and allowed students to become anthropologists while studying dinosaurs. The City of Kingsville provided dirt, the King Ranch provided sun bleached bones, Ramirez funeral home provided tents, and Dr. Pat Heubert attended as a consultant to aid students as they tried to identify types of bones. Among her many accomplishments, Judy was the campus science fair coordinator and consulted other schools as they worked to get their science fairs up and running. In 2003, she was named Kleberg Elementary’s teacher of the year and was Kleberg school’s dedicated science lab instructor from 2004-2008. During this time, she worked with TAMUK science majors and created an after-school science club. In 2007, she was named the Walmart Supercenter’s teacher of the year and her school, Kleberg Elementary, was awarded a $1,000 prize. Judy retired after 40 years of service with KISD, having worked at Harvey Elementary for two years and 38 years at Kleberg Elementary.

When she was not teaching, Judy spent her time gardening and became a Master Gardener by attending a program at TAMUK in conjunction with the agriculture extension center. She loved to spend her time going to Sonic and driving around Kingsville and visiting with many of her friends and family. She enjoyed helping others by planning events, making flower arrangements, interior decorating, landscape design, and carpentry.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Alma D. Shanks, her grandparents Antonio and Maria Cortez, and her uncles Homero Cortez and Mario Cortez.

She is survived by her husband, Lauro “Larry” De La Garza; daughters, Jaclyn (Trinidad) Sanchez IV of Hedgesville, West Virginia and Antoinette (Ryan) Houston of Austin, Texas; grandchildren, Noah, Maynard, Luke, Lennon, Scarlett, and Nathaniel; and one brother, Steven Shanks of Anderson, Indiana.

The family will receive condolences from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at Turcotte-Piper Mortuary; with a holy rosary to be recited at 7:00 p.m. A mass of christian burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at St. Gertrude Catholic Church. Rite of Committal and Interment to follow at a later date.

The family requests that in lieu of any flowers or gifts that donations be made to the ALS association to further research for those affected by this condition.