Ms. Barbara Diane Jones' Obituary
Barbara Diane Davidson Jones of Houston peacefully passed away on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 in Fort Worth.
Barbara was born August 17, 1930 in Dallas to Carroll Elizabeth Moore and William Reed Davidson. She was a great-niece of William Carroll Crawford, the last surviving signer of the Texas Declaration of independence.
She was a graduate of Paschal High School in Fort Worth and a member of the National Honor Society. Barbara studied art at Texas Christian University for two years before she married the love of her life, the late Albert G. Jones III. They had two children, Lynda Carroll Jones of Houston and the late Douglas Allen Jones, and two grandchildren, Kimberly Carroll Wittmer and Gerritt Wesley Wittmer, both of Houston.
Barbara devoted her life to her family. She was an assistant Brownie leader, and made sure Lynda was able to attend Girl Scout Camp each summer. She spent thousands of hours getting Doug the services he needed to be successful in school, including private speech therapy and physical/occupational therapy before he started kindergarten.
Barbara adored her two grandchildren. She loved dressing Kim in pretty little dresses and reading books to both Kim and Gerritt when they were young.
In the late 1960s, Barbara picked up her art again and attended classes at San Jacinto College in Pasadena. One year, she showed her work in a Neighborhood Centers event and won first place for her oil painting of a boy fishing on a pier.
Her artistic talents merged with her gardening skills, producing a beautifully landscaped yard that almost always had flowers in bloom. She enjoyed sewing and made all of Lynda’s clothing and much of Doug’s as well as her own. The night before Lynda married, Barbara stayed up all night making her beautiful wedding veil. Nothing was too complicated for her. She also enjoyed embroidery and home decorating. She made beautiful curtains and draperies for every window in the house.
When Lynda was a student at Dobie High School, the school colors were orange and white. Barbara redecorated Lynda’s room in the school colors. Doug enjoyed building model cars and planes, so Barbara built him a large hobby table and painted it to match his other furniture. She took pride in maintaining a beautiful home and trying out new recipes when cooking for her family.
She also enjoyed fishing, crabbing, and camping with her family. They frequently went camping at Huntsville State Park and fishing in their boat on Galveston Bay. She especially enjoyed a camping trip with Al in 1973 that took them to Taos, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Alamosa and Durango, Colorado, as well as Yellowstone Park and the Grand Tetons.
Around 1965, Barbara rejoined the workforce, first as a temporary office worker, then as an executive secretary at Shell Chemical in Houston where she worked several years.
Barbara was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church. When the family moved to Houston from Fort Worth in 1959, Barbara and Al helped found a Methodist church in their new neighborhood.
Barbara never recovered from the tragic loss of her son in 1978. She was a patient in a Fort Worth nursing home the past 16 years. Now she finally is at peace, in Heaven with God and her son.
Barbara is preceded in death by her parents, Carroll Elizabeth Moore and William Reed Davidson of Fort Worth; the love of her life, Albert G. Jones III of Houston; her beloved son, Douglas Allen Jones, of Houston; her sister, Mary Carroll Davidson Rains of Fort Worth; and her brother, William Robert Davidson of Cayuga.
She is survived by her daughter, Lynda Carroll Jones of Houston; granddaughter, Kimberly Carroll Wittmer and husband Jarrod Michael Rebich of Houston; grandson Gerritt Wesley Wittmer of Houston; nieces Linda Elizabeth “Beth” Eley Zimmerman of Athens, GA and Susan Rains Mahan of Fort Worth; nephews Christopher Eley and wife Jana Eley of Houston, Curt Eley and wife Marta Eley of Plano, Paul Eley and wife Cynthia Eley of Houston, Mark William Davidson, of Liberty County, William “Billy” Davidson and wife Julie Davidson of Lakeside; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Barbara Diane Davidson Jones at 2 p,m., Saturday, March 21, 2020 at the South Park Funeral Home, 1310 North Main St., Pearland, TX 77581. Visitation will be 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. Burial will be at the South Park Cemetery, the same address.
Pallbearers will be Jarrod Rebich, Christopher Eley, Terence Cooper, Tod Emerson, and Wynn Wittmer. Readers will be Beth Zimmerman and Kimberly Wittmer.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Greater Houston at www.namigreaterhouston.org.
Fill not your heart with pain and sorrow, but remember me in every tomorrow. Remember the joy, the laughter, the smile. I’ve only gone to rest for a little while. Although my leaving causes pain and grief, my going has eased my hurt and given me relief. So dry your eyes and remember me, not as I am now, but as I used to be. Because I will remember you all, and look on with a smile. Understand in your hearts, I’ve only gone to rest for a little while.
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