Barbra Ann Jones was born July 31, 1927 in South Charleston, West Virginia to Gertrude Vonda Weese Jones and Roma Clarence (Dick) Jones. She was the eldest of 4 children, followed by brother Clarence Edward (Buck) and sisters Sarah Ellen (Sally) and Carol Lea.
In her early childhood, Barbra and her family lived in the second story of the auto repair shop owned by her father. During the great depression her father’s auto repair shop was forced out of business, and as a result the family eventually relocated, first to Galveston, and then on to Texas City.
Barbra attended Central High School in Texas City until her graduation in 1945. During this time she was active in the Girl Scouts of America. After graduation she enrolled in Texas State College for Women in Denton, TX and attended there for one year before returning home to Texas City where she was employed at the Union Carbide plant in the Accounting Department.
Barbra was interested in drama and was involved in Texas City Little Theatre, and she enjoyed dating several young men. During this time, Barbra met Elmo Holley Brundrett who was working for a construction company at the Carbide Plant in Texas City. One of their first dates was to the Hollywood Dinner Club in Galveston for dinner and dancing, one of Barbra’s favorite activities. They were married December 24, 1949 at the First Methodist Church in Texas City and returned to Fort Wayne, Indiana where Elmo was studying civil engineering at Indiana Tech. When Elmo graduated, the couple returned to Texas where Barbra worked for Second National Bank in downtown Houston.
The couple later purchased a home in the Bellaire suburb of Houston, and began their family. Barbra would eventually bear three children; two sons David and Joel, and daughter Cherie. Through her husband’s job, the family transferred location several times; first to Atlanta Georgia and later to Evergreen Colorado where their children were raised.
Throughout her later life Barbra was an exemplary wife and mother. Her sons both graduated with degrees in engineering and her daughter with a degree in accounting. Barbra deeply enjoyed her children and grand children, and is remembered for her curiosity, her engaging conversation, her contagious laughter and her devout abiding faith.
She is predeceased by husband Elmo Brundrett and survived by children: David and Shirley Brundrett, Joel and Linda Brundrett, and Cherie and Ray Sanchez; grandchildren: Sean Brundrett, James Sanchez, Jessica Loyd, Brian Sanchez, and Taylor Sanchez; and great grandchildren: Lyla Sanchez and Elizabeth Loyd.
