The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Harry Newton Jones, 79, of Orange, TX, moved to his heavenly home on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, surrounded by his loving wife, family and friends.

Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m., Sunday, December 18, at Old First Orange Baptist Church in Orange, Texas. Burial will follow at Orange Forest Lawn Cemetery in Orange, Texas.

Visitation will be from 1:00-2:00 p.m., Sunday, at Old First Orange Baptist Church in Orange, Texas.

Harry was born August 31, 1943, in Annona, TX, Red River County. He was the son of Homer Grady and Mary Zula (Warthan) Jones. He moved to Orange as a baby and lived in Navy Park. He graduated from Stark HS in 1961 and was awarded a football scholarship to Blinn Jr College, but chose to stay in the Golden Triangle and start working. He met Doris Cooper in December of 1962 at Zack’s in Orange and asked her to marry him that night! Four months later on April 23, 1963, they were married. They have been married and in love for almost 60 beautiful years. In 1966, they had a daughter, Angie who he adored. In 1973, they had saved up enough money to purchase some land behind “Stuckey’s” on Fox Road. Harry designed their dream home. He and Doris spent the next 3 years on their dream with the help of the Lord, friends and family, and a “How to Build a House” book they kept checking out of the Public Library. In April of 1976, they moved in that home.

Soon after, they recommitted their lives to Jesus, became members of Old First Orange Baptist Church where they have served faithfully all these years. Harry became a deacon in 1980 and a Sunday School Teacher. He has loved learning and teaching about the Word of God. Harry and Doris especially loved spending their vacation every summer helping to build churches while traveling with Old First and the Volunteer Christian Builders all over the nation. Harry was the authentic “Santa” every Christmas for the children at church, making sure they knew about Jesus. Harry served in the US National Guard for 6 years. In 1961, he started a career with Sears and Roebuck as a salesman, and quickly became the Assistant Store Manager in Orange. He was asked many times to become the store manager, but he never wanted to move away from his hometown of Orange to do so. He worked at that same Sears store until they closed in 1992, and he took early retirement.

Too young to stop working, he created “Jones Enterprises” and started installing cabinets and doing carpentry work around town. In 1994, Sears knew they needed Harry again, so they hired him as Project Coordinator to remodel Sears stores and build the Great Indoors all over the country. After Doris retired, she was able to travel with him. In the early 2000’s, Harry retired a second time from Sears.

Harry loved spending time with his wife. They especially enjoyed working together on repair/remodel projects, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and serving together at their church. He loved spending time with his daughter’s family around the dinner table laughing and telling stories together. Anytime they needed help to move, or fix something, or babysit, or just chat, he was there and loved it. He loved spending time with his grandson watching movies, discussing everything, being silly and laughing together. He loved to laugh and make others laugh. He loved to garden – vegetables and flowers, especially roses. He loved to mow the grass, till the soil, plant, pick and shell those purple hull peas. And every year he would at least grow a few tomatoes.

Those who passed before Harry and who welcomed him to heaven are his mom and dad, Mary and Homer Jones, his sister and her husband Dorothy Jean and Donald Peveto, his brothers James “Jimmy” Jones and Nick Jones, his father and mother-in-law ET Cooper and LaNell Cooper Adams, his brother in laws Earl Cooper and wife Ruth, Phil Cooper, and his grandson Martin Ferguson.

Those left to share memories of Harry, to laugh at his stories, and to love others like he did are his wife, Doris Jones of Orange, his daughter Angie and husband Joe Ferguson of Orange, his grandson Noah Ferguson of Orange. His sisters and brother-in-law, Emma Lee and husband John Brunken of Delaware, Rosemary and husband Ron West of California, sister in law Sue Jones of Greenvelle. His brother and sister in laws Prentice and Kim Cooper of Conroe, Helen and Monk Allen of Beaumont, Linda and Danny Burkhalter of Magnolia, Anita Cooper of Center.

His comrade Clyde and wife Nancy Nugent of Orange, and his numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any gifts in his memory be made to Old First Orange Baptist Church or to Birthright of Orange, TX.