Melbern Jones, 97, of Jacks Creek passed away Wednesday Aug. 24, 2022 at his home.
Funeral services were 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at Community of Christ Church with Dwight Jones officiating. Burial followed in Bailey Cemetery.
The family received friends at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue Chapel from 5-8 p.m. on Friday and from noon-2 p.m. service time Saturday at Community of Christ Church.
He was born April 6, 1925 and reared on Roby Road near Jacks Creek, the son of the late William Ambrose and Ora Clementine Newsom Jones. He went to school at Pine Springs.
He was a United States Army veteran, having served his country in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of operations during World War II. He was drafted into the Service in Sept. 1943 and was assigned to Company B of the 178th Engineer Combat Battalion in General George S. Patton’s Third Army.
He served in Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. His duties included building bridges (one of which was a 1,600 foot span over the Rhine River), laying mine fields, preparing roadblocks and defensive positions, maintaining roads, and supervising manufacturing plants and civilian activities and transporting injured soldiers. He received Four Bronze Stars during his services.
He married Earlene Bailey in 1948, and they made their home in Jacks Creek.
He worked for Bailey Brothers Trucking and then owned and operated his own gravel hauling business. He retired from trucking and went to work for the Chester County Highway hauling gravel. He retired in 2007.
He served as church treasure at the Community of Christ Church for many years.
He enjoyed fishing, hunting and gardening.
He is survived by two daughters, Patsy Denton and Karen (Billy) Shumate both of Jacks Creek; a sister, Olene Brown of Little Rock, Ark.; six grandchildren, Angie Finch, Tonya Clark, Cory Shumate, Amanda Bayless, Kristen Cates and Dustin Shumate; 13 great-grandchildren; and 11 great-great-grandchildren
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; three brothers, Leon Jones, Lelton Jones, and Newsome Jones; and great-grandson, Nick Finch.
