Elizabeth Josephine Rowe

Elizabeth Josephine “Jo” Brown Rowe died Monday, August 5, in Norman, Oklahoma. She was 89.

Jo Rowe was born April 19,1930 in Muskogee, Oklahoma to George Mitchell and Josie Frank Glass Brown. She grew up in the Muskogee and Bremerton, Washington before attending Monte Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from which she graduated in 1948

After high school, she attended business school in Oklahoma City while working as a switchboard operator at Benedictine Heights Hospital in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

She married Veston H. Rowe on Valentine’s Day in 1953, and after his service in the United States Army, they settled in Enid, Oklahoma, where she was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, and where she was also a member of the Altar Society.

Additionally, Jo volunteered as a member of the St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary for several years. She was a member of the Enid Chapter of TOPS (Take off Pounds Sensibly) and KOPS (Keep off Pounds Sensibly) for many years, receiving state and national recognition for her achievements.

Jo moved with her husband to Forth Worth, Texas in 1981, where she was a member of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church and the YMCA.

They moved to Norman, Oklahoma in 2012.

Jo packed a dynamic personality into her 4’10” frame. She loved to engage others in conversation throughout her life, even after a stroke 16 years ago made it difficult for her to communicate. She was loved by all.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Charles Brown. Her husband of nearly 66, Veston, died February 12, 2019.

She is survived by her sister, Margaret Kymes of Muskogee, brother George Brown of Menifee, California and her children, Celeste Rowe (David Desautel) of Norman; David Veston Rowe (Jae Pepito) of Orange, California; Michele Van Zandt (Audie Van Zandt), Norman; and Lisa Munkacsy (Bob Munkacsy), Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

She also is survived by granddaughters Adrianne Munkascy (Dominique) of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; and Kayli Capshaw of New York City; and grandsons,
Matthew Munkacsy (Chelsea) of Lindenwold, New Jersey; David Daniels (Kristin) of Oklahoma City; Aaron Daniels (Brittney), Norman, Oklahoma; and Anthony Doernte, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.