Lusia (Louise) Joskowitz

Lusia, our beloved Mom, Grandma, and Mimi, passed away peacefully Wednesday, January 7, 2026, gifting us with a 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. Our mother, Lusia (Louise) Klein Stopnicki 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 3 children, and their mother, Pesla, had 2 brothers and 7 sisters. Everyone except for Mom & her brother, Sol, were murdered during the Holocaust. September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Mother was 14. They could no longer go to school; their father and grandmother’s businesses were confiscated. They were forced to wear a Yellow Star on their clothing so they could easily be identified. Before Mom’s 16th birthday, she was moved to the Ghetto, and then to Plaszow - this camp was well depicted in the movie Schindler’s List. In 1944, Mom was forced into a railcar to Auschwitz. After the hell of Plaszow, Mom did not know what to expect. Arriving in Auschwitz, she thought that she was being transported to Paradise. She got a thin dress, a pair of wooden clogs, and the number A-22060 was tattooed on her arm. Volunteering this time probably saved her life. Oederon was a munitions factory near Dresden. Mom always said, that there, “Life was kind of normal…” No one was beaten or killed while she was in Oederon. They heard the bombs dropping on Dresden and were joyous to hear that the Americans were close, and maybe the war would end. From Oederon mom was taken by train to Theresienstadt. After liberation, June 1945, against all odds, she was reunited with her brother, Sol. They went together to the American Sector and a DP Camp in Landsberg, Germany. Because of business school, mom knew some English and was able to work for UNRWA as a switchboard operator. There she met our father, Rubin, 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. Lusia was preceded in death by her parents, Pesla and Jakob Stopnicki, her beloved husband, Rubin, and her brother, Solomon. 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. A funeral service will take 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. The service will also be livestreamed at the following link: 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