seasons of rain.

Richard Elton Jones was born September 29, 1933, to Buck & Essie Mae Jones in Silsbee, Texas. His sister, Mary Grace, joined the family two years later and they enjoyed a wonderful childhood with friends and family on Fourth Street. He would walk with his family to First Baptist Church, where he was a lifelong member, every Sunday morning. Richard attended school in Silsbee, and in high school was elected as the first Student Body President. He graduated in 1951, and left Silsbee to attend Texas A&M University in College Station. At A&M, Richard was a four-year member of the Corps of Cadets, serving in the original mascot company and receiving the honor of distinguished student several semesters. During his junior year, he met Wanda Kelley at Dr. Poshtaskie’s office in town. He asked her out for a date on the spot. She politely declined, but after some persistence he finally managed to win her heart. The two were married on July 22, 1955, soon after Richard graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in marketing as a commissioned army officer.

After graduation, Richard and Wanda were stationed with the U.S. Army in Fort Lee, Virginia. Then, the pair were transferred to Memphis, Tennessee, where they attended Bellview Baptist Church. They then were sent to Germany, where he spent the rest of his active duty, attaining the rank of Captain. He later became a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserves. In late 1957, Richard and Wanda returned to the United States and within a month welcomed a son, Robert Martin Jones. Three years later, the family welcomed their daughter, Lou Anne.

Upon returning to Silsbee, Richard worked with his father in the family business, Buck Jones Lumber Company, and took ownership of the company after his father’s death. Though originally the business was solely lumber and building materials, under Richard’s direction it later became a home decorating center, being renamed Jones Decorating in the late 1970s and Jones Abbey Carpet in the 1990s. He was devoted to his costumers and employees, and continued operating the center until 2007. When he finally closed the business, he donated the building and property to First Baptist Church, where it is now used as an activity center.

Richard was always active within the community, having served in many different civic and professional organizations, among them the Kiwanis Club and the Silsbee ISD School Board, serving as president in both. He was an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, Texas Lumberman’s Association, and Allied Building Industries. He also had a strong interest in politics, serving as a local election judge, member of the NRA, and chairman of the Hardin County Republican Party.

Richard will be remembered as a man with profound, strong faith in the Lord, and taught his men’s Sunday School class faithfully for several decades. He was ordained as a deacon in his twenties, and served as the chairman of the deacons for many years. He was an active member of the Gideons, and served on the Board of Regents of Luther Rice University in Atlanta as well as the board for David Woods Ministries. Known for his generosity, he supported many other ministry organizations as well.

He loved reading, genealogy, history, traveling, and good food. Most of all, though, he loved his family. He and Wanda had three grandchildren, Justin, Elizabeth, and Caroline, and were proud when all three of them graduated from college—two of them from Richard’s beloved Texas A&M. He spent the last years of his life caring for his dear wife, Wanda, to whom he was married for over 54 years.

Richard was preceded in death his parents, Buck and Essie Mae Jones, son Robert Martin Jones, and five weeks ago by wife Wanda Kelley Jones. He is survived by his daughter Lou Anne Parish and husband Robert, of Silsbee, sister Mary Grace Bower, of Silsbee, grandson Justin Jones and wife Kristen, of Beaumont, granddaughter Elizabeth Sweatt and fiancé James Parsley, of Beaumont, granddaughter Caroline Sweatt, of Austin, step-grandson Rocky Parish, of Laurence, Kansas, step-grandson Scott Parish and wife Whitnie, and great-granddaughter Audrey, of Groves.