Obituary of Mother Mae Etta Jones

A TIME TO BE BORN

            Mae Etta Jones affectionately known as Mother Jones was born in Baxley, Georgia on October 31, 1926. Mae Etta Mobley (maiden name) was born to John Wesley Mobley and Marina Cray Moble

A TIME TO GROW

            Mother Jones earned her high school diploma at Appling County Public School in Baxley, Georgia.  In 1950, after the death of her first husband she decided to relocate. Mother Jones along with her first born Alfreda Copeland, journeyed to Wilmington, Delaware and moved in with her sister Hazel.  Her sister introduced Mother Jones to the love of her life Deacon James A. Jones.

            The story goes: Hazel told her husband’s friend James, that her pretty sister was coming to Delaware. Deacon Jones met her the day she arrived and on September 17, 1955, they were married. From this union there were six children; Nathaniel Jones, Tholetha F. Jones, Joyce Jones Webb, Leartis Jones, James A. Jones Jr. and Linda M. Bright. Mother Jones had a kind, sweet spirit that was slow to judge and she discouraged others from judging by simply saying, “Honey, just keep on living.” Mother Jones loved the Lord and raised her family teaching the importance of leaning, trusting and living a life that is pleasing to God.

A TIME TO WORK

            Mother Jones was primarily a housewife, but through the years she held several jobs as a domestic cleaner.  As a housewife, she took care of her family with love, patience, and encouragement. Mother Jones was especially an excellent cook who loved cooking for her family and friends.  She didn’t mind cooking up a deliciously good meal fit for a king or queen and could do so in little time. As if the task of cooking for her large family plus her children's friends was not enough, she would sometimes cook lunch for her husband’s work crew as well. When Mother Jones’s health begin to fail, her daughters eagerly wanted her to pass along some of her tasty recipes, but to their dismay there were only a few actual recipes.  Most of Mother Jones best dishes, breads and deserts, were her own specialties so the measurements for the ingredients were ...”a little of this and a little of that, a pinch of this and about a cup of that.”

            In addition, Mother Jones was an excellent seamstress who took on the task of making slip covers for her living room furniture along with matching curtains.  She enjoyed the well earned compliments from others on a gorgeous job well done.

            The Jones' home was always busy with her children and their friends, but Mother expected her home to be neatly kept. Her children still wonder why it was really necessary to clean the windowsills and woodwork (crown molding) every Saturday! One of her sayings for keeping her house in order was, “Everything has its place, so you put things back in their place.”

            When Mother Jones health permitted, she was faithful to attending water aerobics where she was a consistent participant for 30 years. Her dedication and consistency was recognized as being the longest member who “worked it out” at The Wilmington Swim Club.

A TIME TO LOVE

            The Jones home was a loving, Christian environment. Deacon Jones and Mother Jones enjoyed a total of 69 years of love, with 64 of those years as husband and wife. The children nor grandchildren cannot remember ever witnessing their parent’s arguing or fussing at one another.   

            Mother Jones was our Matriarch! A true woman of God, in and out of her home, who carried herself with much love to give to others. She especially loved working in the church, as her children vividly remember when they were younger spending an extensive amount of time at Faith Memorial Church cleaning the building. Mother Jones was an active member of Ezion Fair Baptist Church’s Senior Choir, Deaconess and Missionary Board, until her health begin to regress. Two of her favorite songs were ''Pass Me Not'' and ''Lord, I Tried''. She would often state Ezion Fair’s quote, “I love you and it ain’t a thing you can do about it.” Just as Mother Jones worked hard in the church, she did everything else with the same vigor. She simply did it all with love.

A TIME TO REST

            Mother Jones dropped the cares of this world to be with the Lord on March 10, 2019. She has left her family and friends with precious memories and a legacy of love. Remembering and loving her continuously are; three daughters, Tholetha F. Jones, Joyce Jones Webb and Linda M. (Brian) Bright; two sons Leartis Jones and Deacon James A. (Cheryl) Jones Jr.; one sister Hazel Ellis, 14 grandchildren; 25 great-grand children and 12 great-great grand children; two sisters in laws, Gladys Jones and Elder Essie Lee Alderman; and many loving and devoted family and friends.

            Family members who preceded her in death are, her parents; husband, Deacon James A. Jones Sr; daughter, Alfreda Copeland; son, Nathaniel Jones; 2 brothers, Herman and Rudolph Mobley and 1 sister, Queen Mobley Johnson.