ALPHARETTA: Louise Jones, accomplished, patient quilter

Louise Jones was known for her quiet, steady manner and an abundance of patience —- qualities that proved useful both for teaching young children and for making the many beautiful quilts she sewed for family and friends.

Quilting was such an important part of Mrs. Jones’ life that she will be buried with one of her pieces, said her daughter Mary Ordway of Alpharetta.

“We will be displaying some of her quilts at the visitation, and one will be placed in her coffin,” she said. “It was all hand-done and it has lots of circles on it. She started it in 1939, before she married, and finished it in 2001. She found it in a sewing basket a few years ago and finished it.”

Mrs. Jones, 88, of Alpharetta and formerly of Chamblee, died Tuesday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at Wesley Woods nursing home in Atlanta. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Oglethorpe Hill Chapel of H.M. Patterson & Son funeral home, which is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Jones was a native of Fair Play, S.C., and came to Georgia to attend Piedmont College in Demorest, where she earned a teaching certificate in 1939, her daughter said.

Mrs. Jones was a steady, considerate person, said Thelma Duncan, who befriended her when they were college freshmen and stayed in touch over the years.

“Neither one of us had sisters, and we just decided to be sisters,” said Mrs. Duncan, of Evans in eastern Georgia. “She was a very quiet kind of person but still very sweet. She was a good thinker, and she was always the same. You could count on Louise to always be Louise.”

Mrs. Jones taught elementary school for a few years before marrying her husband, the late Richard Anderson “Andy” Jones, a career Army officer. His career took the family to Hawaii before it was a state, Germany and many other postings. He reached the rank of chief warrant officer, said Mrs. Ordway said.

Mrs. Jones worked as a substitute teacher in Hawaii, Indiana and other states where the family was posted, Mrs. Ordway said.

In Atlanta, Mrs. Jones was a preschool teacher at Clairmont Baptist Church for more than 20 years, her daughter said.

In the evenings, she often could be found quilting in front of the TV. She had learned quilting from her mother and grandmother and often made baby quilts as gifts. She also sewed clothing for herself and her family, her daughter said.

She loved crossword puzzles and read widely. Her favorite author was Louisa May Alcott, and she named one of her daughters, Amy, after a character in “Little Women,” Mrs. Ordway said.

Survivors also include two sons, Richard Jones Jr. of Washington, D.C., and Eric Jones of Missoula, Mont.; daughter Amy Williams of Lilburn; and five grandchildren.