Barbara Beene Sitton Jones

Mrs. Barbara Beene Sitton Jones, 95, passed away on December 28, 2012 in Nacogdoches, Texas. She was born to parents, Lauren Howard Baldwin and Audrey Shoppe Baldwin on February 20, 1917 in Yoakum, Texas.

A chapel service will take place on Thursday, January 3, 2012 with Dr. Allen Reed officiating at 2:00 pm at Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors, 5400 North Street, Nacogdoches, Texas. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Park.

Mrs. Jones is preceded in death by her parents: husbands, Captain Jesse H. Beene, Roy Lavon Sitton; one sister; four brothers; great grandsons, John Caleb Barry, Samuel Mathew Silver, and Clayton McDonald.

Barbara is survived by her sweet loving husband of 11 years, Dee S. Jones; daughter, Barbara Willis of Cincinnati, Ohio; sons, John Beene and wife Sarah of Tyler, Texas, James Beene and wife Carol of Nacogdoches; grandchildren, Wendy McDonald and husband Stan, John Willis and wife Victoria, grandson, Daniel Willis and wife Diana, Betsy Barry and husband Shannon, Meredith Beene, Melissa Taylor and husband Michael, Mindy Langford, Marne Colle and husband Robert, Marie Silver and husband Mathew; 22 great grandchildren; 6 great great grandchildren; sister-in-law, Dorothy Baldwin.

Barbara was known for her love for the Lord, and dedicated her life to serving Him, teaching others about Him, and ministering to people in Jesus’ name. She was most well-known for her volunteer service at Nacogdoches Medical Center where she volunteered twice a week up until the time of her illness, and at last count had logged well over 25,000 volunteer hours. Volunteering was her joy, and she spent decades faithfully serving as a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Nacogdoches, where she had been a member since 1947. She had phenomenal musical talent and used her gift for playing the piano for her Sunday School children as well as for Nursing Home residents.

Barbara’s other great love was flowers, and she had quite a gift for growing roses. She was well-known for her gorgeous rose garden which people from miles around came to view, and because of her tremendous skill at growing roses, rose companies would send her new varieties of roses to test in her own garden. She used her roses as a ministry to bring joy to countless hospital patients and nursing home residents, using her gifts to bless as many hurting people as possible with the gift of a small bouquet from her rose garden. She also made sure that the church altar flowers were put to good use, and delivered those flowers to hospital and nursing home patients as well.

Barbara’s death has left a tremendous empty space on this earth, but it is certain that there was great rejoicing in Heaven upon her arrival. She left an enormous legacy in her ninety-five years not only among her three children, nine grandchildren, and twenty-three great-grandchildren who have all been raised to know and love the Lord because of her teaching and her example, but among those countless children she taught in Sunday School, the thousands for whom she led in worship on the piano, and the countless thousands she blessed through her flower ministry through the decades. Her death is not an occasion for sadness, but a time of great rejoicing as she was welcomed Home by so many loved ones who have gone on before her, and those to whom she spent her life ministering, and she has finally experienced the unspeakable joy of meeting Jesus face to face, to whom she faithfully dedicated all of her days

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The family will receive guests for visitation from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm at Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors on Thursday prior to the service.

Memorial donations may be offered to: The Ladies Auxiliary Medical Center/% attn: Anne Derfus/ 4920 Ne Stallings Dr./ Nacogdoches, Tx/ 75965 or First Baptist Church/411 North St./Nacogdoches, Texas 75961.

Pallbearers will be Ken Jones, Edwin Stanaland, Joe Baldwin, Shannon Barry, Jim Thompson, Michael Taylor, Robert Colle, and Ian Angelo. Honorary pallbearers will be the Members of Thompson Sunday School Class and the “Pink Ladies” of Nacogdoches Medical Center Auxiliary.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction and care of Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors.