Myrna Jones 1925 - 2019

JONES, BOWMAN, RICH, BROWN, WALDON

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 2/14/2020 at 00:49:24

Sioux City Journal
10 October 2019

Kalamazoo, Mich., formerly Sioux City

Our sorrow is heaven’s joy when Myrna Jones, 94, of Kalamazoo, formerly of Sioux City, died suddenly in a fatal accident on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. She is rejoicing with her Lord and Savior, together with her parents, brothers and sisters, husbands, family and friends.

A service to celebrate Myrna’s life will be 11 a.m. Friday at Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial and Cremation Services, 3926 S. Ninth St., Kalamazoo. Burial will be in Mt. Ever-Rest Cemetery. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. today and from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, at the Westside Chapel. A light reception will follow the service in the Langeland Family Center.

Myrna was born April 20, 1925, to William and Mary (Bowman) Rich, sharecroppers, in Winnebago, Neb. The youngest daughter of 12 children, she was preceded in death by her 11 siblings. She graduated salutatorian of her class from a school on a Native American reservation.

She was married to Lloyd A. Brown (deceased) in 1946 in Sioux City. From this marriage, they had two daughters, Jeanine (Eugene) Crummel of Scotts, Mich., and Roxine (Ken [deceased]) Kemp of Mattawan, Mich.

In 1963, Myrna was joined in marriage to Billy Waldon (deceased) of Kalamazoo. She is survived by his son, Billy T. Waldon of Kearney, Neb.

In December 1977, Myrna married Harold B. Jones (deceased) in South Sioux City, where they lived and were married until his death in November 2005. Surviving are his children, Harold B. Jones Jr. of Dalton, Ga., and Debra (Dave [deceased]) Freeland of Visalia, Calif.

Myrna is also survived by her grandchildren, Camille (Tim) Hoekstra of Gobles, Mich., Lori Remund of Mattawan, Cathy (Rick) Doonan of Kalamazoo, Bradley (Ashley) Kemp of Mattawan, Brett (Marcella Reyes-Gonzales) of Mattawan, Paul (Anna) Jones and Ben (Maggie) Jones, all of Burns, Tenn., Amy (Cedric) Jones of Paris, France, Alaina Jones of New York City, John (Tracy) Freeland of Greenfield, Ind., and Jennifer (Ross) Eskridge of Visalia, Calif.; 19 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Myrna had a very vivacious personality, infectious smile, and was instant friends with everyone she met. Many neighborhood and church children adopted her as their grandma.

She was blessed with many talents. She was a professional seamstress at a number of Kalamazoo clothing stores, including Robert Hall and Redwood & Ross and Libins. She also worked at the Shakespeare Company and Kalamazoo Sled Company.

Myrna was a self-taught pianist with a unique style and loved to play and sing in church and at family gatherings. Even at 94, she was very sharp and enjoyed playing a variety of games, especially Aggregation with "Michigan" rules which were her own. She loved reading, crossword and jigsaw puzzles. Myrna was very crafty, making blankets, quilts, crocheting and baking. Almost every day included a trip to McDonald's and Sweetwaters.

Memorials may be directed to the Convoy of Hope or Autism Research at Western Michigan University. To view Myrna’s personalized guestbook please visit https://www.langelands.com.