Robert Charles Jones

Robert Charles (Bob) Jones was born in Marshalltown, Iowa on November 27, 1921, to Glenn Perry and Doris Louise Clemmons Jones.  Bob graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1940 and from Marshalltown Junior College in 1942.  He joined the Army to serve in WWII, serving with the U. S. Air Force as a Squadron Ordnance Officer. He obtained an honorable discharge as a Captain at the end of the war.

During the depression years, in 1937, he met his future wife, Mary-Lee Blandford, in Galveston, Texas, while both were living with their families in travel trailers.  They returned there in 1945 and married on VJ Day, August 15, 1945, in the chapel of the Galveston Army Air Field.

After the war ended, Mary-Lee returned to Louisiana State University to continue her studies and earned her BA Degree in Journalism.  Bob joined her after his discharge, earning a BS in General Engineering.

In 1950, they moved to Houston, Texas with their three sons, Robert, Charles, and Dennis, who were born while the two were attending LSU.  Bob was employed in the management services division of an international auditing firm (Earnst & Earnst) and later as the accountant of a local furniture manufacturer and retailer (Christmas Furniture), and a major gas compressor packaging company (CB Southern, a subsidiary of Cooper Bessemer Corporation).  Mary-Lee was employed as an insurance rater in a leading insurance company (Allstate Insurance) and later at a major insurance brokerage firm (John L. Wortham & Son).  While at CB Southern, Bob and Mary-Lee were able to live in England for five years, something they both enjoyed very much.

Bob’s life has been dedicated to serving others.  He became a Deacon in the Southern Baptist Church at an early age, teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir and leading the singing in a small Baptist Mission in Athens, Texas and another small church in Houston, Texas.  He also was very active as a Scout Leader in the Boy Scouts of America for fifteen years, watching two of his sons, Robert and Charles, become Eagle Scouts.  He and Mary-Lee were instrumental in seeing that their third son with Cerebral Palsy, Dennis, was taken care of throughout his life in a loving and caring Christian atmosphere at Mission Road Foundation in San Antonio, Texas.  This was their greatest achievement.

Mary-Lee and Bob spent their retirement years in an RV, volunteering along the way in small churches, church camps and lastly at Valley Baptist Academy in Harlingen, Texas.  As VBA was a school for non-English speaking students from south of the border, Mary-Lee used her time well as a tutor in the English language, helping many to earn a Texas diploma.  Bob used his time helping wherever needed in the day-to-day operation of the campus.

Upon moving to Deming, New Mexico in 1996 due to asthma, Bob was very active for several years as a volunteer at the Deming Hospital Emergency Room, becoming well-liked and appreciated by all the staff.  He also wrote a weekly editorial, “Bob’s Mailbox,” in the Deming Headlight daily newspaper.  He served on the board of directors for the KOTS Retirement Center and was also a volunteer weekly at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store where he tagged and priced shoes amongst other things.

Mary-Lee died of Alzheimer’s on April 4, 2009, at Arbors of Del Rey in Las Cruces.  Bob passed away while in Hospice Care in his sleep at his home Saturday morning (about two hours before sunrise), December 29, a month and two days after his 97th birthday.  Bob is survived by his three sons.  Cremation will take place at Baca's Funeral Chapel.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Robert Charles Jones, please visit our floral store.