Joyce Bridges Jones

PERRY - Joyce Bridges Jones, 77, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 8, 2013, after a brief illness. A Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, December 11, 2013, at 2:00 p.m in the South Conference Room in the Miller-Murphy-Howard Building at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, with interment following in Evergreen Cemetery. Upon completion of the service, a Celebration of her Life will be at Jones Gardens, 534 Woodhaven Road, Ft. Valley, GA 31030. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests a charitable donation to one of these or the charity of your choice to remember Joyce: The Houston County Board of Education (HCBOE) Teacher Hall of Fame, The American Camellia Society at Massee Lane Gardens, or The Medical Center of Peach County Auxiliary. On June the nineteenth about noon in the year 1936, Betty Joyce Bridges was born to the wonderful parents, Morris Lee Bridges and Irva Louise Montgomery Bridges in Marion County, Georgia with the assistance of Dr. Boyt. This was in the era when a doctor came to the home to help birth a baby. Joyce lived in many places during her childhood, because her father was in construction of roads and bridges. Most memorable to her were the years spent in Savannah during World War II. After two years in Milledgeville her family came to Perry to operate The Perry Truck Stop in 1948. It was then that she started school in the seventh grade. Over the next few years, she attended and graduated from Perry High School in 1954. She attended Shorter College for two years before she married James W. Jones. They were married June 23, 1956, and were married 54 years before his death in 2010. She graduated from Shorter College in 1958. In October of the same year, she gave birth to their daughter, Selecia Elizabeth Jones. In November of 1962, their daughter Valerie Leigh Jones was born. In 1965, she and her family returned to Perry to spend the time rearing their children. She taught English, Speech, and Drama at Perry High School until 1991 when she retired. Among her many accolades - one she really cherished greatly - was her selection of Speech Teacher of the Year for the State of Georgia in 1968. During her teaching career, she launched the International Thespian Society at Perry High School. Joyce directed many plays with state honors on several occasions as well as creating The Miss Panther Pageant. Another one of her many achievements was to become the founding president of The Perry Players. In 2012, she was inducted into the Houston County Teacher Hall of Fame. After her retirement Joyce and her husband, Jimmy, carved out of the thirty-seven acre wilderness on the banks of the Mossy Creek, a lovely ten acre romantic flower garden. They enjoyed sharing it with people and taking them on rides in their golf carts to show them the year round blossoms. Among her activities after retirement was achieving Master Gardner status along with her husband. She did volunteer work at the American Camellia Society as well as being a member of The American Red Cross Disaster Team. Joyce was a member of The Town and Country Garden Club in Fort Valley, the Muses Book Club of Perry, and was selected as the Queen Mother of the Perry High School Red Hats. She recently became a member of the Peach County Medical Center as a Peach Auxiliary. The members of all these organizations were like extended family to her. She was a life time member of the NEA, GAE, and HEA. One of the joys of her life was the fifteen years she worked as Superintendent of the Textile Department at The Georgia National Fair. She loved working with the people, the beautiful quilts, and homemade crafts. Joyce loved her family beyond words. She was a member of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Perry. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Morris and Irva Bridges; her beloved brother, Charles Ralph Bridges; and her beloved husband, James W. "Jimmy" Jones. Left to cherish the memories of Joyce are her daughter, Selecia Jones of Jacksonville, Florida; her daughter and son-in-law, Valerie Jones and John O'Hagan Ward of Ajijic, Mexico; and her nephew, Steve B. Tepper of Destin, Florida. To share a special story about Mrs. Jones or leave a condolence for the family, please sign the online guestbook at www.watsonhunt.com. Watson-Hunt Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Tributes

Joyce Bridges Jones

June 19, 1936 - December 8, 2013