Jolene Rowley Jones

Jolene Rowley Jones, 90, passed away peacefully on May 9, 2016, in Dallas, Texas. A celebration of her life will be held in the chapel of Morrison Funeral Home in Graham at 11:00 am on Friday, May 13. Interment will follow at Hawkins Chapel Cemetery under the direction of Morrison Funeral Home.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Hawkins Chapel Cemetery Association, 1405 Los Colinas Ct., Graham, Texas 76450-4447.

An only child, Jolene was born August 14, 1925, near Loving, Texas, to the late Ernest Roy Rowley and Mary Belle Hawkins Rowley. She attended Loving School through the eighth grade, later transferring to and graduating from Graham High School in 1942. She was an honor graduate and played clarinet in the Graham High School Orchestra and Band, as well as piano. Jolene attended the University of Oklahoma and received a bachelor’s degree in International Business with a minor in Spanish from Texas Woman’s University in Denton in 1946. Along with her husband she completed graduate studies in mathematics at the National Science Foundation Institute at Sacramento State University, among others.

On December 31, 1944, Jolene married her high school sweetheart, Norman Jeddy Jones, at the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth. Norman preceded her in death on January 25, 1980. After graduating from college, Jolene worked as an accountant in Olney and taught business courses in the Bryson and Newcastle public schools. With a degree in horticulture from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Norman taught vocational agriculture and horticulture classes upon his return from service as a Lieutenant JG aboard the USS President Hayes and others in the US Navy during WWII. Later both Jolene and Norman took positions as mathematics teachers at Graham Junior High School. Following Norman’s death, Jolene continued to teach until her retirement from Graham ISD in 1989 after 36 years of service. She was a life member of the Texas State Teachers Association. Together Jolene and Norman influenced the lives of countless numbers of young people.

Jolene was a member of the Graham United Methodist Church and had previously been a life-long member of the Loving United Methodist Church. She took special interest in her historic family cemetery, Hawkins Chapel, near Loving, where many of her Methodist circuit-riding clergy ancestors and their descendants are buried. Jolene was a direct descendant of Texas pioneer settlers, Clarence F. Rowley, William Leonard Airheart, and Samuel James Hawkins, who came to Young County around 1876 after his family had originally arrived in Texas from Kentucky in 1846. Samuel Hawkins founded and built the log cabin Methodist church known as Hawkins Chapel with his brother, Flavius J. Hawkins, in 1884, and the first grave in the cemetery is dated 1883. For many years following her mother’s and husband’s deaths and burial there, Jolene lovingly cared for the grounds and planted many of the beautiful trees and shrubs which still live today. She served as the Treasurer of the Hawkins Chapel Cemetery Association for forty years. It was through her research and efforts that the National Historic Site marker was erected at Hawkins Chapel.

Jolene was a master teacher, a rancher, an investor, and an avid reader, but above all she was a dedicated homemaker, always placing her family first. She loved to travel and garden, and she was known for her quick wit, sense of humor, wonderful cooking, and creative spirit.

The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to Hospice Plus and to the staffs of the Plaza at Edgemere in Dallas and Atria in Grapevine, as well as the many doctors and nurses who have helped us in this journey.

Survivors include: a daughter, Jedda Jones, of Bedford; son, J. Mark Jones, and wife, Camille, of Dallas and their children, Sarah Jolene Jones of Dallas and Blair E. Jones of Dallas; son, Rowley Norman Jones, and wife, Cheryl, of Austin and their children, Shelby Jones Neuman and husband, Nick, of Houston, and Grayson Rowley Jones of Austin; in addition to several cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Family Visitation will be Thursday, May 12, 2016 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Morrison Funeral Home.