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Evelyn J. Jones of Dallas, Texas, and most recently Westhampton Beach, died on October 25, after a brief illness. She was 98.
Ms. Jones was born in Chillicothe, Texas, and moved to Dallas, where she lived for most of her life. During the war years, she worked at North American Aviation, where she ran the radio station and gave plant tours. She also worked at the Federal Reserve in Dallas and was a women’s clothing buyer for Neiman Marcus department store.
In 1941 she married Jack Jones, a former college football star at Texas Tech who went on to become a successful landscape architect and nurseryman.
Ms. Jones was a natural athlete, a trait she inherited from her father, who was a Minor League Baseball player. She was an avid sportswoman, excelling in basketball in her high school and college years, playing with the famous athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias. She was selected five times to the Texas All State High School Basketball team. Ms. Jones was also an accomplished skier and tennis player. In the mid 1960s, she took up skeet shooting and went on to become the Women’s World Champion in 1965. She was a member of the All American Team for six years from 1962 to 1967, achieving the role of captain of the ladies team in 1966. She was inducted into the National Skeet Shooting Association’s Hall of Fame in 1988.
Ms. Jones and her husband owned a ranch in Athens, Texas, where she raised Arabian horses and cattle. She generously donated her time volunteering at local Dallas hospitals and was a lifelong member of the Preston Road Church of Christ in Dallas.
Ms. Jones moved to Westhampton Beach in 2012 to live with her family. Survivors said she truly enjoyed living in Westhampton Beach and especially loved the change of seasons in the Northeast. A lifelong card player, she regularly played bridge at the Westhampton Beach Library. She attended services at the Westhampton Presbyterian Church.
Survivors said she was known for her generosity, optimistic spirit, keen sense of humor and compassion for others. She was a person who was universally loved and never had an unkind word to say about others, survivors said.
Ms. Jones was predeceased by her husband, Jack Jones. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Maureen Jones; and grandson, Evan Robinson.
No local services are planned.
on Nov 9, 2015