Billie Jo Maguire

Billie Jo Maguire, age 96, of Houston, Texas, passed away peacefully in her sleep at home on May 29, 2026 - just as she had always hoped.

Born in Houston on June 26, 1929, to her legendary parents, Martin Louis Schultea and Nonie Ellen Taylor Schultea, Billie Jo was a proud daughter of Texas and a member of what Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation." She grew up in a rural Texas of modest means, a child of the Great Depression, and lived through the Second World War - experiences that shaped a woman of remarkable grace, resilience, and warmth. She loved to tell stories of those early years and of growing up in Texas, and she carried that gift for connection all her life. She never met a stranger.

Billie Jo married the love of her life, Robert John “Bob” Maguire, and for 64 years they built a home together. As the wife of a distinguished United States Air Force pilot, she made a warm, secure, and loving home wherever the Air Force sent them - from Hawaii to Dover, Delaware, and beyond - before the family settled in Houston in 1974. Through every move and every season, she was the steady heart of her family.

A devoted member of Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Billie Jo lived her faith quietly and fully. Those who knew her remember her gentle, soft-spoken voice, her captivating and infectious smile, and a kindness that made everyone around her feel cherished. She was, as so many have said, a true angel - loving, gracious, confident, and reassuring.

Billie Jo’s joys were simple and deeply felt. She loved baseball above all sports, following the Houston Astros faithfully from their very beginning as the Colt .45s in 1962 and reveling in every bit of their recent success. She loved music - Willie, Kenny, Johnny, and Elvis - and she loved playing board games with her children and grandchildren and a good game of “42” with her siblings. She treasured the Texas Hill Country, tubing on the Rio Frio and sitting on the porch swing at Hummingbird Hill.

Most of all, she loved her family, all of her family: nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins, and especially her husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and would pray for each of them by name every night. They were the center of her world, and she was the center of theirs.

Billie Jo is lovingly survived by her four children, Kevin (Tammy) Maguire, Dennis (Dory) Maguire, Monica Maguire, and Mary (Doug) Smith; her grandchildren, Nicole (Dale) Schwieterman, Jenarae Garland (Sean) Wion, Allison (fiancé Luke Brady) Maguire, and Robert (Lindsay) Maguire; her great-grandchildren, Aubrie (Gavin) Myers, Renna (fiancé Dusty Pearson), Hallie, Karsyn, Claire Wion, and Whitney Jo; and her brothers, Jack (Cecilia) Schultea and Lacy (Barbara) Schultea. She also leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins in Pennsylvania and Texas; her devoted caregivers Diana, Nancy, Dee, and the team at OmegaLife Hospice; her pet cat, Itty Bitty; and lifelong friends from the Air Force and the Prestonwood Forest neighborhood.

She is preceded in death by her beloved husband Bob, her parents, and her sisters Bernice Schultea Ellington and Frances Schultea Byers. One of the last of her generation, Billie Jo leaves a legacy of love. Her family takes comfort in knowing she is reunited with Bob and her first family.