Shelmerdine –Billy Lee Jones, 88, passed away Thursday, May 14, 2015 at his home. A graveside service will be conducted Monday at 2pm in Mack Smith Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the cemetery where there will also be a viewing.
Billy, born July 28, 1926 to the late Roy and Mayme Jones in Bomarton, TX, was raised in Keystone, OK. He joined the US Navy during World War II, serving on the USS Franklin, also known as “Big Ben,” in the Pacific Theater. He moved to North Carolina in 1948 and met and married Reba Haddock on November 10, 1948. He worked as a farmer and a butcher before becoming a carpenter, working for Daniels Construction and Eastern Omni before retiring in 1991. He loved to hunt, fish, watch baseball and basketball games with his grandsons, and gardening, but spending time with his family always came first.
In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his wife, Reba Haddock Jones; son, Billy Wayne Jones; grandson, Brian Gray; sister, Lily Jones; father and mother-in-law, Spencer and Mertie Haddock; and in-laws, Amyle Peterman, Joyce Jones, George Meigs, Wilbur and Gracie Haddock, Lyman and Lucille Haddock, Jessie Haddock, Estelle Ham, and Roy Lee Fillingame.
Billy is survived by his children, JoAnn Jones Gray and husband, William of Independence, LA and Randy Jones and wife, Joy Cannon Jones; daughter-in-law, Carolyn Jones Williams and husband, Ernie, all of Shelmerdine; grandchildren, Tonya Cabaniss and husband, Jeff, Justin and William Gray, Roxanna Ford, Alan Jones and wife, Jennifer, Casey, Jason, Michael, and Cody Jones; great grandchildren, Joseph Puckett, Brianna, Edith, Mary, and Jacob Gray, Rachel and Jesse Ford, and Zachary and Matthew Jones; brother, Ray Jones and wife, Betty; sisters, Wanda Peterman and Shirley Bunyard; sisters-in-law, Rena Mae Haddock and Betty Jo Fillingame; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.