Viola Olive Jones

Viola Olive Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 20, 1927 to the late Oliver Wellington and Viola Burns. She was the oldest of 7 children - Dorothy, Daisy, Richard, Oliver, Mary and Florence - all who preceded her in death.

She had to quit school in the 8th grade to help the family. She didn't allow not having a high school diploma to stop her from working. She worked at Kraft Candies, Sylvania Company and her last employment was with the New England Telephone Company. In the late 60's, she went back to school and earned her GED. She was a very hard worker, with 22 years of service. She retired from the telephone company in 1991 and moved to Florida where she has lived for the past 25 years. She lived with her daughter Othello Jones for 10 of those 25 years.

While Viola didn't attend church, she allowed her children to attend Sunday School at a church nearby. She always read the scripture and every Sunday, the family would memorize verses. Later in life, she gave her life to the Lord. She attended church and went to work right away serving the Lord as an usher.

On November 23, 1945, she married the late Johnny Jones. They had 2 children, Eugenia (Jeanie) Conley (Bernard), Othello (Thelly) Jones; 3 grandchildren, Marshall Jones(Lynn), Tanyka Williams and Rasheed Jones, Sr (Amber). She had 7 great grandchildren - Leslie, Shaniece, Trey, Rasheed, Jr, Christopher, Zahra and Zoe. She has a host of nieces and nephews who cherished her. She loved all of her family and prayed for them continually. Last but not least, she had a little dog named Kimmy. She always called Kimmy her puppy even though it was an adult dog. They were inseparable. Wherever Viola went, Kimmy had to go.