Rita Jo Huddleston

Rita Jo Slaughter Huddleston entered the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Friday, March 20, 2026.

Born November 4, 1935, in Camden, Arkansas, to Neill and Stella Thompson Slaughter. She graduated from Fairview High School in Camden in 1953 & married the love of her life, Jack Huddleston, in August. They celebrated 50 years together before his passing in 2003. In their early years, due to Jack's job in the construction field, they moved frequently with major companies. They lived in 7 states, which included many towns & cities. In the late 1960's, they made Mesquite, TX, their hometown, along with many of Jack's siblings.

Rita & Jack were blessed with 3 daughters & 9 grandchildren. Rita shared special relationships with each of her loved ones. The great grands thought she was awesome as she tried to attend many of their sports activities & all events possible. She also passed on her love of music. Her love of basketball reached all the way back to playing forward on the Fairview Lady Cardinals in the early 1950's. She was also considered the "best aunt" ever by all her nieces & nephews on both sides of the family. Rita was always in the center of whatever was happening & loved sharing life with everyone. When she smiled, her dimples highlighted her beautiful blue eyes, along with her outgoing personality.

Rita's early married years were devoted to being a homemaker & raising their daughters. After all the girls were married, she began her college journey, where Jack was her biggest cheerleader & supporter. She obtained her bachelor and master's degree in English from East Texas State University in the 1980's. She chose education as her professional career & served as a seventh-grade English teacher with Mesquite ISD at Wilkinson and Kimbrough Middle Schools. She inspired students with her love of grammar and literature and was known for her encouragement and care to both students & student teachers.

A woman of deep faith, Rita served her Lord through various roles over the years, including Sunday school teacher, pianist, choir member, deacon, elder, and committee member. In her later years, she continued her ministry through volunteer work, including serving the homeless, teaching ESL to adult international students, and supporting youth programs like Kids Beach Club.

She was an enthusiastic sports fan, loved playing the piano, & was a very talented seamstress where she outfitted all 3 daughters throughout their school years. She loved to quilt and made special hand quilted baby quilts for her lucky descendants.

She is survived by her daughters, Sherry (Terry) Hobbs of Garland, TX, Dianne Leake of Heath, TX, and Lisa (Kevin) Smith of Wills Point, TX; nine grandchildren, Carissa (Matt) Meyer, Travis (Stephanie) Hobbs, Aaron Jordan (Holly), Hillary (Russell) Syverson, Crissy (John) Minnett, Lacie (Ben) Irish, Scotty Capps, Shelly (Justin) Ruggiano, Blair (Erin) Leake; and twenty-five great-grandchildren Molly, Claire, and Chloe Meyer, Laura and Kole Hobbs, Jackson and Garrett Jordan, Kennedy, Drake, and Bella Syverson, Miles and Keaton Minnett, Preslie Stevens, Kymber and Emery Irish, Ryan, Addison, Dillon, Carleigh, and Kaleigh Capps, Brooks and Ava Ruggiano, Charlie, Eleanor, and Henry Leake. She is survived by her older sister, Peggy (Sonny) Jones of Camden, AR, along with numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, and extended members of the Slaughter & Huddleston families.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, both brothers, William T. Slaughter, Thomas T. Slaughter and son-in-law, Randy Leake.

A celebration of life will be held at New Hope Funeral Home in Sunnyvale, Texas on Thursday, April 2, at 10:00 a.m. with viewing and visitation one hour prior to the service. A graveside service will be held at DFW National Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. where she will be interred with Jack, a WWII Naval Veteran.

Rita will be remembered for unwavering faith, her servant's heart, and her deep love for her family and community.

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