Jimmy Jones

March 8, 1925 - January 30, 2014 Mr. Jones slipped the bonds of this earthly existence into the arms of his Savior after a short illness in Lubbock, Texas. A visitation will be held Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Sanders Funeral Home and a celebration of his life will be held Monday 1:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Bowman Chapel with cremation following. He is survived by his sons, Chris (Marilyn) of Dallas, Texas, and Tim (Roxan) of Odessa Texas, grandchildren Benjamin Jones of Kansas City, MO, Jennifer (Landon) Wimberley of Odessa, Texas, Katelyn Jones of Munich, Germany, and Jill (Devan) Najera also of Odessa, His three great-grandchildren Lainey Wimberley, Logan Najera and Elizabeth Najera were the joy of his life. He also is survived by his precious long time friend, Laura Purcell and her family, who were as close to kin as anyone could be. Jim was predeceased by his beloved wife Elsie, his mother and stepfather, his brother Austin, and several brothers in law of the Bynum clan in Texas and Oklahoma. Early Years. Jim was born to Pressley and Eunice (Brown) Jones in Bexar County, Texas. He grew up on the ranch near Kline, Texas, and spent many childhood years rooming with family in Uvalde during the school years and working summers on the ranch with his stepdad, Gene Brice. Many days, it was 12 miles out to the back of the ranch, then 12 miles back on his favorite horse, "Chief", mending fences and culling wormy cows. He graduated from high school at 16, in 1941, and moved to San Antonio, where he worked as a general ledger clerk for the Groos National Bank. War Years. After December 7th, 1941, he did what most men did in his generation, he volunteered for service in the US Navy. His mother signed a permission letter, since he was just 16, and would be 17 when basic training was complete in San Diego. He described the trip from San Antonio to the Navy port in San Diego as the longest train ride of his life. He served with distinction until the end of the war, achieving the rank of ARN2 as a radio mechanic serving seaplanes off of the Seaplane Tender, the US Norton Sound. He was proficient in radios for every carrier based aircraft, and spent nearly 7 months stationed on Guam, leading up to the expected invasion of Japan. On a fateful day, some weeks before the war ended, he volunteered for a "secret mission" which would end up being the occupation of Tokyo Bay as part of the landing force of Marines and Navy men known as Task Force 31. During the early days of his service there, he overflew Hiroshima and Nagasaki as part of a film team on a PB4Y and PBY taking historic pictures of the awful destruction that gave birth to the greatest generation. His unit also took part in the surrender of the Japanese warship "Nagato", and was on deck during the signing of the Unconditional Surrender documents on board the USS Missouri. The many stories he shared with his sons, family and friends are many, though like most, it was only in the last decade or so that he opened up on some of the more specific details of his service. College and Marriage. On the GI Bill, Jim went to North Texas Teacher's College, but transferred to Texas Tech after just a year. While at Tech, he called the Women's Dorm at Tech to talk to a girl he had met the previous weekend. However, she was not there, but he agreed to meet the girl who answered the phone for a 'coke and a smoke' at the Broadway Drug store. He and Elsie Bynum married after that unlikely first date, and were married for nearly 60 years before her death in 2008. Jim was 'adopted' by the Bynum family, which included Elsie's four brothers and their wives and families, and was beloved by them all. Career. Jim started work at Hemphill-Wells as a delivery truck driver during his college years, and upon graduation, worked at various management positions within the company, including traffic manager and Operations Superintendent and store manager for over 43 years before his retirement from Dillards Department Stores. Jim and Elsie built several homes together, including their beloved mountain home in Angel Fire, NM. Jim's ashes will be scattered there, in keeping with his wishes. He was a good man.