For some, retirement signals a time when they can kick back and take it easy. But for Shirley Jones, retirement meant she had time to pursue her dream of earning a college degree.
A native of Saint Ann Parish in Jamaica, she went to college in her home country but didn’t finish her degree there. Her career as an administrative assistant took her to New York in the ‘70s and later to Atlanta, but she had to set aside her goal of earning an undergraduate degree until 2004, when she became a student at Georgia Perimeter College.
“She was quite excited about the opportunity,” said Tim Jones, her husband of 27 years. “But she was quite devastated when she could not continue due to illness.”
In 2006, Shirley Jones received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Her health finally got to the point where she could no longer attend classes or care for her mother, which she’d been doing for several years, her husband said.
Shirley Grace Jones, of Lithonia, died Oct. 24 at Vista Hospice from complications of cancer. She was 68. A funeral is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at White Oaks Baptist Church, Stone Mountain. Her remains will be cremated after the service, her husband said. Eternal Hills Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Jones came to the U.S. in 1975 and lived in New York, working as an administrative assistant for a law firm. She moved to Atlanta in 1980 and took a job with the law firm of King & Spalding. While at the law firm, she earned her real estate license and worked part time as an agent. In 1988 she was hired by Delta Air Lines, where she worked in several administrative positions until she retired in 2004.
Along with education, family was a key component in Jones’ life, said the Rev. Ray Pennant, a family friend. The care she provided for her mother and the way she freely shared what she had with her siblings and other family members was admirable, he said.
Jones surrounded herself with family, and she put a tremendous amount of time and energy into organizing family reunions of her Jamaican relatives, her husband said. Her love of family was appealing to him because when the couple married in 1985 he had a young son.
“She really embraced him, and that made their relationship so much better,” Tim Jones said. “And she talked to him about a lot of things as he grew up, but especially education.”
In addition to her husband, survivors include her mother, Inez Henry of Lithonia; sisters Clare Henry and Carol Henry, both of New York, Jennifer Hines of Henry County and Sonia Henry of Duluth; a brother, Barrington (Barry) Henry of Gwinnett County; and a stepson, Timothy E. Jones II of Douglasville.
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