Ruby Lee Stein Jenschke

Ruby Lee Stein Jenschke went to be with the Lord on April 30, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas.

Ruby was preceded in death by her parents, Johnnie and Anita Kramer Stein; brother, Dayton Stein; and her sister-in-law and best friend, Ida Stein Chysinski.

She is survived by her devoted husband of 65 years, Clifton Jenschke; her sister, Connie Stein (Dean Herr); daughters Lana Marlowe (Tracy), Terri Angelico (Mike), and Stacey Jenschke; grandchildren Delaney Juarez (Daniel), Brody Marlowe, Lindsey Angelico (Daniel Rodriguez), Ellie Marlowe, Adam Angelico, Parker Duarte, and Bailee Duarte; numerous nieces and nephews; along with many cousins and Godchildren.

Every woman is born with hopes and dreams uniquely her own. Family, community, loss, and joy shape the journey she takes. This is the story of a girl whose birth certificate simply read “Baby Girl Stein,” born into modest means, who grew to become a woman of strength, determination, and vision. Ruby believed that girls and women must take control of their lives—never accepting limitations placed on them because of their gender. She carved a life of purpose and pride—not just for herself, but for the women who would come after her.

Ruby was born on August 20, 1940, in Fredericksburg, Texas. The early years of her life were spent in Doss, a small town of fewer than 200 people. Her family lived without modern conveniences: no electricity, no gas, no indoor plumbing or phone. The house was lit by kerosene lamps, and meals were cooked on a wood stove which was their only source of heat. Despite these hardships, Ruby remembered her childhood full of love, belonging, and acceptance.

German was Ruby’s first language, and she spoke only German until she began first grade. But she was smart and a quick learner and easily picked up English and was proud of her ability to learn and adapt.

In 1958, Ruby graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Fredericksburg alongside her best friend and future sister-in-law, Ida Franke. Smart and social, she was active in student council, wrote for the school newspaper under the pen name The Peeping Papoose, performed in plays, and in her senior year, was head cheerleader, football sweetheart, voted “Best All-Around Girl”, and “Most Likely to Be Whistled At”. She was smart, beautiful, independent, flirty and fun.

On November 20, 1959, she married “that darling man,” Clifton Jenschke, as she lovingly wrote in her wedding book. He was the man she would spend the next 65 years of her life with. Over the next seven years they welcomed three daughters into their lives. In 1971, following the passing of her mother at the age of 53, Ruby’s 13-year-old sister was welcomed into their home.

Ruby's mother endured a difficult life, widowed young and left to support her daughter by caring for elderly people in their homes. Shortly before her death, she told Ruby, “You and Connie—you both get a good education and never depend on anyone else to take care of you.” That charge became a guiding force in Ruby’s life.

Though she held various jobs in her younger years, Ruby found a true passion in bookkeeping. She was proud to have worked at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio when it opened in 1963, even generating the hospital’s very first invoice. In 1971, Ruby decided to pursue higher education. At the age of 31 and with four girls at home and a full household, she enrolled at San Antonio College, eventually transferring to St. Mary’s University. Her girls have memories of her sitting at the kitchen table and twirling her hair between two fingers while she studied into all hours of the night. Oftentimes they’d ride to the icehouse on their bikes and bring her a Pepsi, 10 pieces of red bubblegum and sometimes a Big Hunk candy bar. Despite discouragement from a counselor who told her she belonged at home with her girls, Ruby graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1976 with a degree in accounting, specializing in tax accounting.

Ruby was a proud feminist and courageous advocate for women’s rights. She was an active member of the National Organization for Women (NOW), attended women’s marches, and participated in the 1977 NOW National Conference. She passed her passion to her daughters, who remember riding bikes with ERA stickers and marching around the living room singing “I Am Woman” with pride.

Also in 1976, Ruby helped found the San Antonio Women’s Credit Union, one of just 26 such institutions in the U.S., created to offer women financial independence from the discrimination so common in banking at the time. It allowed women in those days to open a bank account and get loans on their own without needing a male co-signer such as their father or husband.

Never one to stop striving, Ruby continued on to become a Certified Public Accountant, earning her CPA designation in July 1978. In her first job interview, a man dismissed her as “just a bored housewife.” She proved him wrong. Ruby’s first firm, Chorpening Jungman, recognized her brilliance, and she became the first female partner in a CPA firm in San Antonio. Years later, she had the joy of running into the man who doubted her and proudly saying, “I guess you were wrong about me being a bored housewife.” She continued practicing into her seventies.

Outside of her career, Ruby’s heart belonged to her family. She was the centerpiece of a close-knit, loving clan. Her tireless work to make holidays magical—especially Christmas—left a lasting legacy. Every room in the house would be transformed, and family tree-shopping trips became cherished traditions. Even when money was tight and the trees were small and thin, she always said the trees were perfect—because they were decorated with love.

One of the most beloved traditions Ruby created was an annual girls’ trip to Fredericksburg each Christmas season. For 32 years, she, her sister, daughters, and later her granddaughters, stayed in a B&B for a weekend of laughter, joy, and unforgettable memories.

Ruby also planned beach vacations, spring break outings, peach-picking adventures in Fredericksburg, tea room lunches, and trips to amusement parks—creating treasured memories that will live on for generations.

Her legacy as a trailblazer lives on in her granddaughters, who see her as a role model of strength and empowerment, and in her grandsons, who learned from her example to value and respect all women.

In her final hours, Ruby was surrounded by the people she loved most—her husband, daughters and their spouses, sister, grandchildren, and their partners. They played her favorite songs, shared laughter and tears, and celebrated the extraordinary woman who had brought so much light into their lives. It was a goodbye written just as she would have wished.

Her life was a masterpiece of purpose, perseverance, and love. She leaves behind a family she built, a path she paved, and a legacy that will never be forgotten.