Carmen Lydia Jones

(Passed away at 90 years of age at 9:20 a.m. on Saturday, 7 April 2012,

in Austin, Texas, her home of over 50 years).

Carmen Lydia Maldonado was born 90 years ago in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico to an economically privileged family. Though her father did not drink, he manufactured Puerto Rican rum among other business interests. As the teenaged daughter of a prominent family in old Puerto Rico her movement was quite restricted. One of the few places she could go without a chaperone was the library to study. There she met a young soldier in the Army Air Corps, Burnell Shirley Jones, from Kilgore, in East Texas. He had no money and one of the places he could afford to go was the free library. They met, courted and over time decided to elope, with the permission of the Army post commander. In old Puerto Rico, powerful families were somewhat a power unto themselves and regular laws might not apply and the young couple were afraid of what might happen. The young couple were restricted to the base. Eventually, Carmen’s father notified her that her beloved brother, William, was sick and she should come and see him. After some trepidation, she did and eventually her father met Burnell and they became friends for the rest of their lives.

War was imminent and Burnell was stationed in Puerto Rico as a navigator/bombardier on a flight crew to defend the Panama Canal. Carmen became pregnant and Burnell was transferred to remote islands to hunt German submarines from the air.

Without ever having met her husband’s parents the young, pregnant woman went to Florida by herself and caught a train to East Texas. Along the way she saw snow for the first time. Her son, Robert Dee, was born in Kilgore and did not see his father for many months because of the war. Six years later, after the war, the family was stationed in Puerto Rico again and Carmen gave birth to her daughter, Shirley Mae, now Shirley Emilienburg.

Carmen was a military wife and dedicated mother. Among other places, the family lived in Blythe, California; Denver, Colorado; Roswell, New Mexico; London, England; San Antonio, Texas; and Austin, Texas. She was a kind and generous person by nature and was loved, and will be missed by her friends and family.

Besides Robert and Shirley, she leaves behind adored grandchildren, Kristin Salyer and Chad Capps. Her later years were enriched by her great-grandchildren from her granddaughter Kristin: triplet boys Keegan, Kamden and Kaston, now four years old; and from her grandson Chad: four month old daughter Ava.

Carmen was particularly close to her in-laws: Shirley’s husband, Clayton Emilienburg who was an important care-giver in her later years; Kristin’s husband Corbey Salyer; Chad’s wife Kelly Cook Capps and Robert’s wife Donna Cook Jones. All live in Austin, Texas, except for Donna who lives in Arlington, Virginia.

The Maldonado family is very close knit and the surviving members include her beloved brother and sister: William Maldonado (San Juan, PR) Isabel Maldonado Domenech (San Juan, PR); nieces and nephews: Melbita Maldonado Delgado (Florida), Isabelita Domenech Cottrell (Florida), Ramon Domenech (Catano, PR).

Family and friends are invited to a funeral service to be held at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, April 12, 2012 at the Memorial Chapel of Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home in Pflugerville. Interment will follow at Cook-Walden/Memorial Hill Cemetery.

To share memories please visit www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com