Winnie Elizabeth Hughes Jacobs

Winnie Elizabeth Hughes Jacobs was born in Norman, Oklahoma on January 2, 1950 to her parents Glenn Loren Hughes and Pearl Rea Hughes. She is preceded in death by her parents; and her only sibling, Timothy Glenn Hughes. She is survived by her husband, Philip Dean Jacobs; her sister-in-law Hatsuko Hughes of Colorado Springs; nephews, Masanori Hughes and Nathan Hughes and his wife, Barbara also of Colorado Springs; niece, Jeannie Conklin and her husband, Shawn of Ulster Park, New York; three great nephews and four great nieces.

Within months of her birth, Elizabeth’s family moved to Houston where her father was a professional musician and her mother, a teacher to Osage children in Oklahoma and later to Hollywood children in California, would become owner and headmaster of Woodland Hall School. Her upbringing emphasized the importance of education. Elizabeth graduated from The Kinkaid School in 1968. She went on to graduate from the University of Houston with a baccalaureate in 1972. There she majored in education with an emphasis on mathematics. She worked in Bill Clements’ 1978 campaign for Governor of Texas and later worked in his administration. Later, while still in Austin, she worked for private consulting firms involved with polling and economic analysis. In 1982, Elizabeth moved back to Houston to work for a refinery firm that later would be acquired by Valero Energy Corp. It was in Houston that she met Philip Dean Jacobs, and they were wed in 1983. In 1999, Valero moved its Houston offices to its San Antonio headquarters and the couple have made their home in San Antonio ever since. In 2002, Elizabeth accepted early retirement from Valero and she then became an exemplary volunteer until her death.

“Exemplary volunteer” is an understatement; it is more like “God’s servant” as it seems God protected her and directed her mission. Elizabeth was a lifelong Christian Scientist and a member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, San Antonio. She devoted much of her retirement to its support and certain Christian Scientists in need. She was either First or Second Reader for most of the past 15 years and she welcomed this as she found it to be a source of spiritual growth. She was greatly concerned by the decline of church membership in virtually all churches, and she could not imagine a world without churches. Elizabeth could have traveled the world as many do, but she stayed home and took care of church business while others with work, family and/or travel needs could not. Having little family herself, the church became her family. She became guardian of two developmentally disabled Christian Scientists and spent time and travel overseeing their care.

Elizabeth loved animals and this was expressed in many ways. She volunteered as a docent at both the Houston and San Antonio zoos. She liked handling the few “animal ambassadors,” particularly the snakes. She produced puppet shows aimed at teaching school children to appreciate wildlife. She adopted at least fourteen dogs during her lifetime. Her last eleven were all rescues, mostly retired racing greyhounds. She liked having a pack of hounds, some of which were fosters. At the time of her passing she had only one, Buddy, pictured above, and they served as a therapy team for Paws For Service.

With all of Elizabeth’s selfless love, her husband was able to finish his Ph.D. in 2004. He feels deeply indebted to her for her unwavering support and feels that she deserves most of the credit for any of his academic work; past, present and future.

Elizabeth will be missed by all who knew her. Her ashes will be buried at the site of her parents’ grave during a private ceremony in Wimberley, Texas.

One of Elizabeth’s favorite Bible passages is Joshua 1:9. (Following the death of Moses, Joshua prepares the Israelites to cross the Jordan River.) “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”