Joanne Jones

Joanne Johnson Jones of Columbia passed to her heavenly home on Sunday, November 1, 2015 from complications due to a broken hip and wrist. Funeral service will be 11 am Friday November 6, 2015 at Compass Evangelical Free Church, 600 Silvey St, Columbia, MO, with visitation one hour prior to the service.

She is survived by her loving husband Alfred H. Jones, daughter Christine L. Hucks (Chuck), son Randall C. Jones, daughter Jeanne L. Pfander (Michael) and son Terrill D. Jones (Debby), brother Peter W. Johnson (Jeanette), as well as many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, honorary grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her father and mother, sister Jeanne B. Huffman and brother David Terrill Johnson, Jr.

Joanne was born on May 5, 1921 to Lt. David Terrell Johnson and Mary Gertrude Cato Johnson at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. She began her education in Hawaii, completed high school in Bryan, Texas and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1942. During WWII she was employed as a CAA Control Tower Operator at airports in Kansas City, KS, St. Louis, MO and New Orleans, LA.

In 1947 Joanne accompanied her father & mother to Sendai, Japan where she was soon employed by the Miyagi Military Government Department of Health and Welfare as a social worker interviewing women and their families in rural Japan. It was there she met her future husband, Lt. Alfred H. Jones. They were married at the U.S. Consulate in Yokohama on March 27, 1948, followed by a wedding ceremony at the U.S. Army 9th Corps Military Chapel in Sendai on April 5, 1948.

An Army Daughter for 26 years and Army wife for over 67 years, she was privileged to live in many parts of the U.S. and three foreign countries. Joanne and family moved to Columbia in 1968. Wherever Joanne lived, she was active with family, church, and community service activities. In Columbia, she was a faithful member of Evangelical Free Church of Columbia (especially the Threaded Hearts Quilting group), the League of Women Voters, the Columbian Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Chapter LM of the PEO. She volunteered for many years as an election poll worker and with her husband Al at The Wardrobe, Meals on Wheels, etc.

Joanne was an avid reader and one of the library’s busiest customers. She loved children and people in general. It is said that with Joanne’s smile and kind, outgoing personality she would know that person’s personal history within twenty minutes of meeting!

Although deeply mourned, Joanne’s spark of love & light will live on in our memories and hearts.