Aster Jeu Joe

Aster was born on March 9, 1930, in Cotton Plant, Arkansas to father Y. Pau Jeu and mother Go She Pan. She was the youngest of three sisters.

After graduating from Little Rock Junior College – where she was President of the Home Economics Club – she moved to Houston, Texas, at age nineteen with her sister and brother-in-law.

In Houston she met and married Hobert H. Joe. They built a home in Hunter’s Creek Village (Memorial Villages). Aster was a loving and devoted mother to an active family of two boys and one girl.

Aster was a natural beauty, and she made sure her appearance always reflected her joy of life. One of these joys was dressmaking. She made most of her own dresses, both casual and fancy.

Hobert and Aster made an extraordinary couple: he absolutely adored her, and she steadfastly supported him in all their business and community activities. Hobert owned and operated Houston area grocery stores called Continental Finer Foods, and Aster worked alongside him, greeting and helping customers.

Both Hobert and Aster were prominent leaders in the local Chinese American community. For over fifty years, they were active members of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Houston Lodge (C.A.C.A.), a non-partisan Chinese American fraternal, benevolent non-profit organization. Both held many C.A.C.A. leadership roles. Aster’s roles included President of the Women’s Auxiliary, Treasurer, Collector, Auditor, and Board of Advisors.

After Hobert passed away in 1993, Aster continued her work in the C.A.C.A., including the Youth Club and the Miss Chinatown Houston Scholarship Pageant. She also enjoyed traveling, exercising at the Houstonian Club, and doting on her four grandchildren.

After surviving a battle with cancer, Aster moved into the assisted living community now known as Pegasus Landing at Tanglewood, where she had a happy and busy life leading bingo, handing out weekly notices, and serving as community ambassador to new residents.

All who knew her will be forever inspired by her loving ways of kindness, mercy, selflessness, and compassion.

Perhaps she will be best-remembered for her special kind of generosity: wherever she went, she handed out candy bars or other sweet treats to family, friends, and friends-to-be!

Aster was preceded in death by her husband Hobert Joe and sisters Lily Lew and Rose Lim.

She is survived by son Gregory Hobert Joe and his wife Connie and children Cypress and Alexander; son Ronald Henry Joe and children Christopher Szeto-Joe and Alexandra Szeto-Joe; daughter Stephanie Aster Joe and husband Scott Downing and children Hannah Downing and Grace Downing; and numerous loving nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, great-grand-nieces, great-grand-nephews, other relatives, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Chinese Community Center, 9800 Town Park Drive, Houston, TX 77036.

Visitation will be on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 from 5pm to 8pm and Funeral Service on Wednesday June 25, 2025 at 10am at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX 77079.