Lusia (Louise) Joskowitz

Lusia (Louise) Joskowitz, our beloved mom, grandma and Mimi, passed away peacefully Wednesday, January 7, 2026, gifting us with the love of family, Judaism, and a treasure chest of happy memories and life lessons. We are in awe of her love of life, strength, resilience, energy, and her ability to find a bargain, make delicious rugalach, and win at cards. Lusia Klein Stopnicka Joskowitz was born April 14, 1925, in Krakow, Poland. She had one brother, Solomon, and a big extended family. Their father, Jakob, was the youngest of three children, and their mother, Pesla, had two brothers and seven sisters. Everyone except for Mom and her brother, Sol, were murdered during the Holocaust. Before Mom’s 16th birthday, she was moved from the ghetto and to Plaszow. This camp was well depicted in the movie, Schindler’s List. In 1944, mom was forced into a rail car to Auschwitz. A brave decision to volunteer for work at Oderon, a munitions factory near Dresden, likely saved her life. From there, Mom was taken by train to Theresienstadt. After liberation in June 1945, against all odds, she was reunited with her brother, Solomon, and together they went to the American sector and a DP camp in Landsberg, Germany. There she met another survivor, Rubin Joskowitz. They courted and were married in 1947. Their daughter, Pepi, was born in Landsberg shortly before they received word that they were being sponsored by the Jewish community in Houston, Texas, where their daughter, Geri, was born. In Houston, Rubin worked at Brockstein Inc. as a skilled wood worker, and they were joined by her beloved brother. Later, Lusia and Rubin owned neighborhood grocery stores. They were part of a thriving survivor community. They loved creating a home for their family, barbecuing for friends, and celebrating all the holidays. When Lusia went to school programs for her grandkids, she would just look around and see all the Jewish kids, and when we would go to synagogue and she would see Israeli flags and again a place full of Jewish people, she would just kvell and she would be so happy. She was part of that horrible time when Hitler tried to annihilate all of the Jews. She had survived!! Lusia was preceded in death by her parents, Pesla and Jakob Stopnicki, her beloved husband, Rubin, and her brother, Solomon Stopnicki. She is survived by her daughters, Pepi (Steve) Nichols and Geri Joskowitz; grandsons, Josh (Stephanie) Brownstein and Aaron (Rubia) Joskowitz; great grandsons, Rush, Seth, Jakob, Matthew, and Christian; great granddaughters, Lola and Lily; sister-in-law, Ahuva Stopnicki, niece, Shelley (Steven) Davidoff and nephew, Jack (Karen) Stopnicki, and their families. The family would like to thank the caregivers who took such loving care: Barbara, Carla, Esther, Jene, Martha, Nicole, Mimi, and Siamora. A funeral service took place on Friday, January 9, 2026, at 1:00 pm in the Sophia and Jack Bender Memorial Chapel at Beth Yeshurun Post Oak Cemetery, 7445 Awty School Lane, Houston, Texas 77055. To view a livestream of the service, visit https://venue.streamspot.com/f8d04b5b. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Holocaust Museum Houston, www.hmh.org, or Jewish Family Service, www.alexanderjfs.org.

Lusia (Louise) Joskowitz

April 14, 1925 - January 7, 2026