FRANCES J.C. JONES
April 29, 1930-Oct. 27, 2009
Award-winning teacher, writer, speaker and historian Frances Joeleate Cameron Jones, 79, died Tuesday at Kitty Askins Hospice Center.
Services will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. Warsaw Baptist Church, 209 E. College St. in Warsaw. Interment will be at Devotional Gardens in Warsaw.
Born April 29, 1930, Jo Cameron Jones began her distinguished teaching career with the Duplin County Schools in 1953 where she taught until her retirement in 1990.
A lifetime member of the National Education Association and the North Carolina Education Association, she was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Teachers Honor Society, president of the Association of Classroom Teachers, Duplin County Teacher of the Year and a Terry Sanford Award recipient for creative and innovative teaching. She took enormous pride in her students' many successes.
Upon retirement, she started an 18-year career as a reporter and columnist for the Warsaw-Faison News where she was nicknamed "Two-Shot Jones." Her column, "Reflections," saluted events and individuals of her community, the nation and the world.
She received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in recognition of her extraordinary service to the state of North Carolina, and in particular for her work in education and her commitment to veterans and Veterans Day activities in Warsaw, home of the nation's oldest consecutive celebration honoring those who serve in the military.
A member of the Warsaw Post 9810 Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary, she was a devoted patriot who was deeply involved in the L.P. Best House restoration and its creation into the Duplin County Veterans Memorial Museum.
Her lifelong interest in drama included starring roles in many productions of the Duplin County Arts Council and the Duplin Outdoor Drama Society, and she often gave dramatic readings on historic events at area churches, libraries, civic organizations and local schools.
Her long record of community service included membership in the Warsaw-Kenansville Rotary Club and the Fremont Rotary Club where she garnered perfect attendance in both clubs and was named a Paul Harris Fellow, one of Rotary's highest accolades.
An honor graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro, she served on the Guilford College Alumni Board of Directors.
Raised a Quaker, she joined Fremont United Methodist Church where she was a member of the Hooks-Williams Circle and the Sew Blessed Prayer Shawl Ministry. While a member of Warsaw Baptist Church, she served as a Sunday school teacher and Chancel Choir member.
Survivors include daughters, Jo Carol Torrez and husband, Larry, of Washington, D.C., and Shari Stewart and husband, Hank, of Pikeville; a son, A. Murray Jones Jr. of Warsaw; three brothers, Jay "J.R." Jordan of Reidsville, John Jordan and wife, Ann, and Harold "Pinkey" Jordan and wife, Dean, of High Point; a sister, Carol J. Green of Colfax; four beloved grandchildren, Elizabeth Stewart, Kenan Stewart, Jessie Stewart and Cameron Jones; sister-in-law, Colleen J. Martin; brother-in-law, Josh Jones and wife, Nancy, of Warsaw; and several devoted nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, Arnold Murray Jones Sr.; her parents, Arletecy Cameron Jordan and Howard Eugene Pfizer; her stepfather, Clarence Jordan; brothers, Roland Jordan and Thomas Jordan; and a nephew, Brian Jordan.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the Guilford College Educational Department, 5800 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro, N.C., 27410, or Fremont United Methodist Church Sew Blessed Prayer Shawl Ministry, P.O. Box 147, Fremont, N.C., 27830.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Warsaw Baptist Church and at other times at the home of Colleen Martin, 105 Walnut St. in Warsaw.
Community Funeral Home of Warsaw Inc. is handling the arrangements.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on October 29, 2009 1:47 PM