Joann Hurt Jones, longtime resident and supporter of the Odessa community, died on Wednesday, June 27, from complications of a recent accident. She was surrounded by her family and by the extraordinary care and gentle skill of Hospice House. She was 83 years old.
She was born on May 31, 1929 in Jacksboro, Texas to James Alexander Hurt and Vera Hurt. With her family, she lived in many communities across the southwest and west as the oil industry grew. It was in Odessa that she found her true home; she attended Odessa High School and was salutatorian of the class of 1947. It was there that she met her life love and her “true north” of 60 years, Virgil Wayne Jones. Together they attended Oklahoma University, where she received her BA in music in 1951. They raised a family of three children together, in Borger, Texas: Bartlesville, Oklahoma; and Odessa.
She had a life-long passion for music and a deep belief in volunteer service, and combined these in service to St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale, the West Texas Jazz Society, and to the recent creation of the Wagner-Noel Center. Her church service, church family, and faith journey were at the center of her life. She served as a vestry member, volunteer organist, choir member, children’s choir leader, and Stephen Ministry volunteer at St. Barnabas, and lived her life surrounded by an extraordinary circle of friends who became truly one family.
She is survived by her brother, Clint Hurt of Midland; three children (James Wayne Jones & wife Chyree of Odessa, Kristie Jones Poorman & husband Brad of Abilene, and Linda Jones & husband Will Joyner of Newton, Massachusetts), six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Her belief in God, her love of her family, and her joy in music are legacies that will remain with them all. She will be greatly missed, and will always be loved.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church and to Hospice House Foundation.
Memorial services are set for 1:00 PM Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.
Services entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home.
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