James Studdard Obituary

James Lewis Studdard (Jim) age 83, passed away on Monday, March 16, 2026, in Parker, Colorado, from complications of a fractured hip.

Jim was born in 1943 in South Charleston, WV, to Lawrence Booker Studdard and Geraldine Derrick Studdard. He graduated in four years with a B.S. in Math while working full-time at FMC Corp., welding tanks for the U.S. Army to use in Vietnam. After graduation he taught math at Nitro High School. His teaching load included Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Trig, Calculus, Logic and Statistics. At the end of the year he changed careers and became a computer programmer. Jim later completed an M.S. in Software Engineering at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Jim worked for various defense and aerospace contractors in California, Virginia and Maryland from the late sixties until his retirement in 2010. He enjoyed working for almost forty years at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, on both the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs. One project he was happy to talk about was his work on the software that enabled Mission Control to communicate with the Space Shuttle and to see its exact location.

Jim's outside interests were mostly sports-related. He came from a family of golfers and played up until the last two years of his life. He played softball as well, but his second love was basketball. Someone asked him once if he'd played for a college, which thrilled him. Jim played full court until he retired at age 67. Jim and Fran took up pickleball at their last location in Texas. A photographer with the local paper got a shot of Jim reaching over to return the ball, and it was featured in the next sports section. He also found time to coach girls' softball and basketball in the 1980s.

Jim is survived by Fran, his wife of fifty-five years, his son James Lewis Studdard III (Stephanie), daughter Lesley (Graham), and daughter Valery (Mike). Grandchildren are Joshua (Alex), Carrie (Tawan) step-granddaughters Julia and Ariadna, Landry, and Abigail.

He is also survived by his younger brother John (Susie). Nieces and nephews are Jay Studdard, Shellie Studdard, Shawn Studdard, Megan Hunt, Jon Barker, David Barker, and Keith Spearman.

Jim was pre-deceased by his parents and his older brother, Larry Booker Studdard.