Oneta was retired from Dearborn Brass and also worked for Green Acres Baptist Church as the pastor’s secretary. She also worked at the Texas Highway Dept., ET Testing labs and Heritage Bank. Oneta absolutely loved being an Avon representative for 45 years and won multiple “top seller” awards. She never met anyone she wouldn’t offer an Avon brochure and was passionate about meeting her customer’s needs. Oneta trained at ET Baptist College and Wayland Baptist College. She served as Youth Director for Calvary Baptist Church in Durant Oklahoma, and again later in life at Sharon Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, Texas. Oneta was a long-time member of Green Acres Baptist Church and the past few years has served on the WIN (Widows in Need) committee at GABC. She loved the car care events and preparation meetings and considered it an honor to be able to help someone in need.
Oneta was preceded in death by her loving husband of 54 years, Ralph Edward Malone; parents, Claude and Mary Lou Staples; brother and sister-in-law, James and Wanda Staples.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Kyle and Luwi Malone; her daughter and son-in-law, Nina and Robert Vargas; grandchildren, Ryan and Jordan Lewis, Amanda Vargas and Chuck and Brandy Malone. Luwi’s children, Dak, Michelle, Dominique, Caren and Dave; great-grandchildren, Ezekiel and Kyla Mason, Gabriel, Cassiel, and Azriel. Surviving siblings are Joe Staples and his wife Shirley, Melba Mabry and her husband Jerry, Gene Staples and his wife Mary, Janette Shank and her husband Ron, and Linda Peery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of East Texas or the East Texas food bank.
A private family graveside for Oneta will be held Friday, June 2, 2023 at New Harmony Cemetery, Tyler, Texas. The celebration of life memorial will begin at 10:00 am in the Galilee Room at Green Acres Baptist Church, followed by a time of visitation during the reception.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.tylermemorial.com for the Malone family.
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