Janell Jones

Janell Nunnelee Jones died in her home on June 3rd with friends and family near. She celebrated her 100th birthday the year prior on August 4, 2021. Throughout her life she dedicated herself to three things: knowing God’s Word, loving her family, and practicing her favorite hobbies of gardening and painting.

Janell’s love of God was evident in her everyday life. She studied the Bible, memorized passages of scripture, attended Bible studies, taught Sunday school at her hometown church in Westville, OK, and was a faithful member of Eastside Baptist Church after her move to Ft. Smith in 1996. While her knowledge of the Bible was vast because of her diligent studies, her life was a testimony to the God she loved. She was a woman of beauty, grace and love. Who Christ had been to her, she was to others. She was a faithful friend to many, gracious in her actions toward others, kind with her words, and always prayerful.

Family was at the center of her life. After spending her early childhood in Caulksville, AR, she and her five siblings moved frequently due to her father’s work. With all that changed around them, family was the constant. After she married L.H. “Son” Jones in 1940, she began her own family with a daughter, Jerre Louise, and later a son, John Andrew. She was a beloved wife and cherished mother who kept everything together. Janell was “Nana” to 3 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren and most recently a great-great granddaughter. She was always waiting for their visits with homemade cookies, crafts, tea parties, treats and lots of hugs and kisses. She has been one of God’s greatest blessings to her family and her friends.

Janell loved to garden and used the harvest of her labor to cook large family meals that were the highlight of time spent in her home. One of her specialties was the prized jar of dill pickles or pickled okra—the garden couldn’t keep up with the demand! Gardening, flowers and other natural elements inspired all of her paintings, but one of her favorite things to paint were beautiful roses. She was very skilled at making the petals look as if they were unfolding right before the viewer’s eyes. This love of painting was passed down to grandchildren and great grandchildren. She continued painting until she was 99 years old.

Janell was preceded in death by her mother and father, Gertrude and J.B. Nunnelee; 5 siblings, June, Jerry Bea, Jearl, Jack, and Patti; and her loving husband, Son Jones, of Westville, OK. She is survived by Doug and Jerre Moore of Ft. Smith, AR, and John and Kay Lynn Jones of Rogers, AR, along with 3 grandchildren Jamie Clark, Mark Moore and Kristy Makris, and their families.

The funeral will be held at 10 AM on Monday, June 13, 2022 at Eastside Baptist Church, 2710 Massard Road in Ft. Smith, AR. Graveside committal service will follow at 2:30 P.M. at Westville Cemetery in Westville, OK. Arrangements are under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to the Literacy Council of Western Arkansas or Bible Study Fellowship at 19 Huebner Road, San Antonio, TX 78258.