Mary E. Jones, age 88 of Barefoot Bay, FL, formerly of Oil City, PA died peacefully on January 3, 2017 after a short illness. Not only was Mary an exceptional mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother and friend but she was the life of every party lucky enough to have her on the guest list. Born November 6, 1928 to Mary Brown Rogers and John Rogers, she grew up on "the hill" with her 4 brothers John, Red, George and Jimmy and her sister Gerry. She graduated from St Joe's High School where "Duke" was a basketball star. On October 28, 1948, she married Robert "Tex" Jones and they enjoyed 53 years of marriage before Tex passed away in 2002. Together, they had 6 children - Michael, Steve, Joyce, Jackie, Jan and Pat. She was a mother to many in addition to her children. Anyone who was a friend of the Jones kids was welcome to be part of the family. She held various jobs in Oil City including Veach's, Breene, Frame and Magee law offices and Boise Cascade Packaging and she was loved and treasured at each place of employment. When Tex retired they relocated to Orlando, FL where she continued to work for Boise Cascade/Sonoco until she retired in 1991. Mary enjoyed her Orlando neighborhood and the many block parties that took place on Inwood Court. Her friends always ranged from the very young to the very old and they all knew that they could count on a good time and a great piece of pie when Mary was around! She was "world famous" for her dance moves...especially when Tex played "Five Foot Two" on the guitar. She last performed this dance this past summer while visiting her children in Rockmere, PA. Mary was a resident of Barefoot Bay, FL from her retirement until her death. This community opened up a whole new world of activities including tennis, line-dancing, shuffleboard and parties galore! She tried to attend them all! It was here that she met her loving companion, Milton Boynton via the matchmaker - Susie White. Milt and Mary were an enviable couple, complementing each other very well.
A service celebrating Mary will take place on Saturday, January 7, 2017, at 9:00 am at St Luke's Catholic Church in Sebastian, FL. A second service will take place in Oil City, PA sometime this summer. Memorials preferred to St Jude's Children's Foundation.