Mary Jo Khuri

With great sadness we announce that Mary Jo Khuri (Rashid) of Sarasota, Florida died peacefully at home on July 14, 2023. She entered this world on August 20, 1939, to Fawzi and Cora Rashid (Sowell) in Highland Park, Michigan.

May Jo was outgoing, social, and loyal. She spent many happy hours conversing with friends, including her life-long friends, Taria Houvouras and Pat Davis. She enjoyed the company of many others everywhere she lived throughout her life.

Although she did not regard herself as an artist, Mary Jo’s life expressed her considerable creativity and love of the arts. She was trained in the French culinary arts, sharing her joy of cooking with all. As a master baker, she started a small baking company where she perfected her beloved Chocolate Hearts recipe. Her passion for the culinary arts extended to editing a cookbook for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She beaded, sewed, quilted, and made jewelry, and she was a fantastic storyteller. She remained connected to her Lebanese heritage in a number of ways, notably by serving as a docent for many years at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (formerly the Oriental (sic) Institute of the University of Chicago). She enthusiastically supported the variety of aesthetic and creative expressions of her children, grandchildren, and artists she met throughout her life.

Mary Jo loved all animals, cherishing her beloved dog Bailey and the last dog her life, Molly. She was an anxious traveler but found joy in experiencing other cultures by traveling to many places including Jordan, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

After attending nursing school and surviving open-heart surgery at a time when many did not, Mary Jo ventured to Chicago. During recovery, she met and fell in love with the doctor on call, whom she married August 2, 1964. They lived for a time in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia before settling in Evanston, Illinois where they raised their children with much of their extended families considering it their second home. Decades later, they retired to Sarasota.

Mary Jo is predeceased by her mother, father, and siblings, Julia Nichols (Rashid) and David (Pete) Rashid. She is survived by her loving husband, Raja Khuri; children (Jannan Khuri, Lydia Khuri (Jane Reid), Omar Khuri (Sheila Khuri), Anwar Khuri, and Hazel Cassidy); grandchildren (Wahkuna Cotto, Motega Cotto (Nicole Cotto), Ashley Khuri (Sydney Feldman), Ramina Khuri (Angel Anderson), Remo Khuri, Elias Khuri-Reid, Wynn Khuri, and Jason Khuri-Reid); and great-grandchildren (Skyler Cornstalk, Nevaeh Cotto, Isabella Montelongo, Leilani Cotto, and Cire Cotto). She was especially close to her cousin Philip Rashid (deceased) and his family, Pat, PJ, and Sara. She received tender and generous care from Tracy Kennedy during the last period of her life.

Eat something sweet, notice something beautiful, talk to someone new and you will be connected to some of the animating forces of Mary Jo Khuri’s life.

Memorial contributions can be made to

● The Evanston Animal Shelter, Evanston, Illinois (https://evanstonanimalshelter.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/evanstonanimalshelter/donation.jsp)

● The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures—West Asia and North Africa, University of Chicago (https://isac.uchicago.edu/give).

● The J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, Florida (https://www.fws.gov/refuge/jn-ding-darling)

● Water is Life, Petosky, Michigan (https://www.waterislifefestival.org)

Services honoring Mary Jo’s life will be announced soon.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmsrobartsfuneralhome.com for the Khuri family.