Elizabeth Ross

Elizabeth Ann Ross (Houk), 57, died Saturday, April 4, 2026, in her hometown of Sioux Falls, following a brief illness.

Beth is the daughter of James and Roslie Houk, with whom she shared a close lifelong bond. Born on July 25, 1968, in Dodge City, Kansas, she was the middle of three sisters, along with Lynne Riddle and Lori Junso. They grew up moving from Kansas, to Oklahoma, to South Dakota, and no matter where the family lived, they always made a trip across states to their cabin on Lake Koronis in Paynesville, Minnesota.

Beth graduated from Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls in 1987, then attended Colorado College on a golf scholarship. She would go on to manage the West Mall 7 Theater, where she helped expand the company into multiple theaters over the 26 years she worked there.Throughout her life, Beth lived in Dodge City and Overland Park, KS; Tulsa, OK; Sioux Falls, Coleman, and Madison, SD; and Worthington, MN.

She married Jeff Ross in 1991, and shared nine years of partnership. They had three children, Justin, Roxy, and Austin. Beth also garnered a loyal crew of pets: her dogs Sparkle, Dixie, Dakota, and Chipper Anne, her cats Princess and Tabby, three ducks (Huey, Dewey, and Louie), four rabbits (Emily, Hopper, Hercules, and Tigger), a chinchilla named Paco.

She shared her life with a wide cast of friends and family, old and new. She loved to talk smack on the golf course and was always beating everyone with seemingly zero effort. She loved to travel, often rallying a group to meet at a golf course in Arizona, or a show in New York, or a gig somewhere on the Old Vegas strip. She was a sharp shooter who liked to go skeet shooting on big family hunting trips across the Midwest, and spent countless good times at her parents’ lake cabin over the years.

Beth was untamable. She was spirited and driven, brimming with ideas and plans and hijinks. Her stories were legendary, full of sharp jokes, colorful nicknames, and shocking twists. She commanded each room she entered, with effortless charisma and contagious spontaneity, and made fast friends (and sometimes enemies) everywhere she went.On a calm night at home, you may have found Beth hosting a few friends, making far too much spaghetti, talking and cackling late into the night.

On a warm night in Vegas, you may have found Beth at the Golden Nugget, playing blackjack and roulette, sipping cold G&Ts, finding adventure in the places most people don’t think to look.

Beth is preceded in death by Lori Junso, and Roslie and James Houk. She is survived by her children, Justin and Ryan Crimmins, Roxy and Levi Loudenburg, Austin Ross and Lauren Hoyen; granddaughter Hazel Rose; sister Lynne Riddle; former husband Jeff Ross; long-time friend Todd Frager and countless nieces and nephews, Jesse Riddle, Kaitlyn Walker, Rachel Fritzlar, Briana Junso, Allyson Riddle, and Mallory Foltz.

The family will be holding a celebration of life for Beth on Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.Please join us at Prairie Green for an open house-style gathering where family and friends can stop in, share memories, and celebrate the love and life she brought all of us. We invite you to bring stories, photos, or simply your presence as we remember her together.