Jo Beth Litwin

Jo Beth Rhodes Litwin, 78, of Sugar Land, Texas passed away May 6, 2014. She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 8, 1935 as the oldest daughter of Fred and Grace Rhodes. Jo Beth grew up in Corpus Christi, graduating from the "new" W.B. Ray High School in 1953. She continued to live there until 1978, when she married her husband of 36 years, Robert "Bob" Litwin, and moved with him to Houston.
In Houston, Jo Beth worked many years as Business Manager at David Taylor Cadillac, where she made many lifetime friends among her co-workers and repeat customers. Her outgoing personality, great smile, beautiful blue eyes, and warm heart naturally drew people to her. She and Bob loved the coast and the beach, so they spent most of their leisure time in Galveston, where Jo Beth became very active in community affairs. After formally "retiring" in 1995, she became Director of the David Taylor Classic Car Museum in the Strand area of Galveston. Her love of antique cars, old Victorian houses, and the rich history of Galveston made it a perfect fit for "JB and Bob". They enjoyed many long weekends at their beach house and on the Strand. She was often a docent at the annual Historic Home Tours, and in 2004 the Historic Downtown Strand Partnership honored her with their Volunteer of the Year Award.
Jo Beth greatly loved all of her family, and was a wonderful mother to her three sons. Known affectionately as "The Mom", she treated any friends of the boys - and there were many - as her own, with love, kindness, and great cooking. She was always good natured and enjoyed organizing activities for all the neighborhood kids….probably to get them out of the house once in a while! One of her favorite things to do was decorate her garage at Halloween like a haunted house, don a witch's costume, tell ghost stories, and read (good) fortunes to kids who came in to get their trick or treats.
In addition to her husband Bob, Jo Beth is survived by her sister, Rae Ruth Rhodes Ecklund of Lafayette, California, her three sons and their spouses, Richard (and Paige) Reupke of Frisco, Texas, Steven (and Julie) Reupke of Corpus Christi, and John (and Marilee) Reupke of Spring, Texas; her two stepdaughters, Ann Litwin Martin and Christine Litwin Campo, both of Deer Park, Texas; two granddaughters, Rachel Reupke Simpson of Spring, Texas and Shannon Reupke of Houston, Texas. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Rosalee King Coleman of George West, Texas; and five nieces and one nephew - all of whom she adored and thought of herself as their "second mother", Amy Rhodes, Anna Rhodes Victor, Riley Rhodes, Jennifer Ecklund, Julie Ecklund, and Jill Ecklund Weinberg.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Chapel in the Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive, in Houston, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to spca.org, or the Marine Corps League of Galveston.