Evelyn L. Jones

Age 90, went to be with her Lord on March 11, 2020. She was born August 10, 1929, in Williamston, MI, to Lawrence and June Smith.

Evelyn grew up on her family farm in Williamston and learned to be disciplined from a young age by taking care of the cows, sheep and chickens, and plowing fields with the tractor. Evelyn accepted Christ as her personal savior at a young age and was actively involved at First Baptist Church of Williamston. She attended White Dog School in Williamston through 8^th grade and then went on to graduate from Williamston High School. She received a 2-year provisional teaching certificate from Central Michigan University, and began her teaching career at Lee School in Williamston. During the summers she attended classes at Central Michigan University, Wheaton College and Moody Bible Institute to complete a BA in Education at Central Michigan University.

In 1953, she met Willard Jones at a summer class through Wheaton College while on an archeological dig in South Dakota. It was love at first sight, and they were married a year later on September 4, 1954, at First Baptist Church of Williamston. Evelyn continued teaching in the Pontiac, MI and Grand Rapids, MI areas until becoming a fulltime homemaker when her children were born. She was an active member of Holt Baptist Church for several years, teaching Sunday School, Bible School and 5-Day Clubs. She was also very involved in the Holt Chapter of Women in Missionary Service (WIMS). For the past several years, Evelyn had been an active member of South Church in Lansing. Evelyn enjoyed traveling with her husband Willard and spending time with family.

She is survived by her children, Cynthia (Randy) Britton, Rebecca (Xing Ping) Lin, Glen (Joy) Jones, Paul Jones, and Carolyn (Keith) Riley, and grandchildren, Michael (Jennifer) Britton, Jonathan (Ecem) Britton, Daniel Lin, Benjamin Lin, Jason Lin, Derrick Jones, Joshua Riley, John Riley, Joseph Riley and Elizabeth Riley. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 56 years, Willard J. Jones; sisters, Marjory Simmons and Nila Smith; and her daughter, Ruth Jones.

The funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 14, 2020, at South Church, 5250 Cornerstone Dr., Lansing. Interment will follow at the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. Her family will receive relatives and friends from 6-8 p.m. on Friday at the Estes-Leadley Holt/Delhi Chapel.  Memorial contributions may be made to The Gideons International or Rural Ingham Meals on Wheels.