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WE LOVE YOU: PRINCE ALBERT & ESSIE R. JONES (UPDATE INPROGRESS 01/21/2008)

Our father, Prince Albert Jones Sr., was born April 25, 1916 in Mathews, Alabama. He was one of 15 children born to the late Wesley (1866?-1929?) and Lura Barnett Jones (1876-1965). Our mother, Essie Richard Jones, affectionately called “Honeybee,” was born March 7, 1921 in London Station, Alabama. A twin to her brother Jessie, she was the youngest girl of 5 children born to the late Joe and Miranda White Richard. In the early hours of June 1, 1997 at the age of 76, God called her home. She was a loving mother…a gentle spirit, who touched the lives of everyone she met. She loved to sing, she loved God and she loved people, especially her children and myriad of grand and great grandchildren.
Growing up and currently residing within five miles of his birthplace, our father has spent most of his 88 years of life as a farmer in the small community of Mathews, Alabama, in rural south Montgomery County. Our parents strongly believed in the value of a good education and Christian living. Their primary goals were to educate us, teach us how to become self-sufficient and respected individuals, and how to help and serve others. By doing customer hay farming in Mathews, Cecil, Pike Road and surrounding areas, they were able to provide a good education and a solid foundation for our family. Three children, Prince Ella Jones Putmon, born in 1940, Areana Jones Doughty, born in 1943, and Arwilda Jones Culver, born in 1951, were all employed as teachers with the Georgia State Board of Education. Prince Ella and Areana have taken a much-deserved break from the classroom. They retired in 1999 and 2002, respectively. Arwilda retired May 28, 2004. Sadly, however, she died of a heart attack just two weeks after her retirement on June 13, 2004.
Two others children, Ernestine Jones, born in 1947, and Richard Jones, born in 1956, are federal employees. Ernestine is based in Washington, D.C. and works as a Personnel Management Specialist with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Richard resides in Montgomery and works as a Civil Rights Complaints Specialist with USDA Farm Service Agency, Office of Civil Rights. Another daughter, Christine Jones James, born in 1946, attended Tuskegee University and traveled abroad before returning home to raise her family. She died suddenly at the age of 56 at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama on October 5, 2002. Their two youngest daughters, Patricia Jones Bradley, born in 1952, and Marilyn Jones Stamps, born in 1955, have each pursued careers in state government; Patricia as a Supervisor-Clerk for the Board of corrections and Marilyn as an Information Specialist for the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel.
One son, Vernon Jones, born in 1949, is a retired railroad worker for CS&X Transportation, while Prince Albert Jones, Jr., born in 1942, Stanford Jones, born in 1944, Wilbert Jones, born in 1950, Eugene Jones, born in 1954, and Frederick Jones, born in 1963, operate their own trucking and contracting business.
Our father taught us the Booker T. Washington approach to life—that is: It’s important to know how to work with both your hands and your mind. His helping hands extended to many others outside his family. He often plowed the soil and planted crops for little or no compensation for those he knew or came in contact with. He provided moral support for many individuals who, like himself, were faced with all the challenges of a farmer’s life.
Two personal challenges for our parents were the rebuilding of our family home after it was completely destroyed by fire in 1958, and overcoming grief due to the untimely death, just six months later, of their infant son, Stanley. They faced the challenges and kept the faith. Their honest, hardworking and simple approach to life has been exemplified in every aspect of their lives, In 1993, because of his untiring and dedicated service to his family, his community and his fellow man, our father received the Stephen T. Provo Memorial Leadership Award, and in 2002 was honored as a Senior of Achievement by the Montgomery Area Council on Aging for his dedication to his family and community. He admits to not being quite as young as he once was, however, he continues to try to help and guide others wherever he goes. He attends Western Blvd. Church of Christ in Montgomery and is stronger than ever in terms of his moral and religious convictions.
In 1997, upon the death of our mother and grandmother, the Essie R. Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund was established as a collaborative effort between our family and the Education Ministry of the New Harvest Church of Church to honor her memory and perpetuate her ideals. She valued Christian living and a good education, and had a genuine desire to make a difference in the world. Desiring to complete an education that was cut short very early in life, she enrolled in college and received a degree for her course of study at age 68. The aim of the Scholarship Fund is to aid young people in their quest for higher education and serve as a mechanism by which they can realize their full potential as active participants in the process of Christian living, moral fortitude and social change. To date, $7,000 in scholarship monies have been awarded from the Essie R. Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund.

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