Beth Ann Lounsberry Rumph's Obituary
Beth Ann Lounsberry Rumph was born August 6, 1946, in Story City, Iowa, and passed away September 15, 2023, in Plano, Texas. She was the second of five children and raised on the family farm outside McCallsburg, Iowa. She graduated from Colo-NESCO High School in 1964 and went on to study music education. She began college at Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri, and graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1968. She then moved to Ottumwa, Iowa, married, and began a family. She taught music at Evans Junior High School as well as private piano and voice lessons. Divorced in 1982, she and her children moved to Plano, Texas, where she would raise her children and spend the rest of her life.
As her children grew, Beth worked hard to secure their future. In 1989, she became a State Farm Insurance agent, and ran her business successfully for 25 years. She worked hard to serve her clients with integrity and was so very fond of her fellow agents. She brought up her children in St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church in Richardson and made important lifelong friends. Many decades were spent at St. B, and the friendships enriched her life far beyond the church walls. Beth also pursued her own passion for music in a variety of ways. Singing for the church choir soon led to a singing career with the Dallas Symphony Chorus, eventually serving as their President. Her personal debut at the Morten H. Meyerson Symphony Center in 1994 was early in her career with the DSC and paved the way for her to sing with the DSC for 25 years. Her time with the DSC allowed her to travel the world, perform in famous venues, and once again, form lifelong friendships. She cherished each moment and performance with the DSC, and it was a very beloved part of her life.
Beth was also very honored to be a Golden Girl of her PEO organization, having been initiated into her local chapter in 1965. Her affiliation with PEO and the mission it embodied had a profound impact on her as she grew through adulthood. Her PEO sisters in Iowa and Texas were so dear to her, and she knew she could always count on them for anything she might need.
At home with her family, Beth loved board games, baking, gardening, classical music, and family history. She relished her Iowa roots and rural upbringing, and also found such joy in her life in Texas. She enjoyed both the fast-paced life of Dallas and creating an oasis of gardens and birds in her own back yard. She worked hard to leave a legacy of love for her family, and we will miss her so very much.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Micki Lounsberry, an infant brother, and an older brother, Bill Lounsberry. Left to carry on her legacy are her children Janet (Ernie) Huben, Brian (Marcie) Rumph, her grandchildren, Avery and Cooper Huben, and Carter and Emma Rumph, sister Jan (Pete) King, brother Steve (Linda) Lounsberry, brother Paul Lounsberry, and a wonderful band of nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held in the Memorial Chapel at Restland Funeral Home in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at 10 am. She will be interred in the Colo Cemetery in Colo, Iowa, next to her beloved parents and brothers. Memorials may sent to McCallsburg Presbyterian Church (650 Main Street, McCallsburg, Iowa 50154) or to her local PEO Chapter (to Chapter FA, c/o Margaret Ford, 4532 Hartford Drive, Plano, TX 75093).
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