Tommy Louis Jones Sr.

On November 5th Tommy L. Jones, Sr. lifted his hands towards heaven and gained his heavenly wings. He was born to the late Eric A. Jones, Sr. and Real D. Jones in Orange County on September 25, 1949. He graduated from Chapel Hill Sr. High School, Chapel Hill, NC as a member of the Class of 1968.

After graduating from high school he joined the US Army where he served for three years. While in the Army he was deployed to Vietnam and while during an approved leave he married the love of his life Stella Dowdy. Upon his discharge from the US Army, he gained employment with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Durham, NC as Maintenance Mechanic Supervisor (Facilities Engineering Branch) where he retired in April 1996. While employed with NIEHS he received numerous accolades for his outstanding leadership, resourcefulness and innovative approaches in managing his section which included NIH Directors Award, NIEHS Special Award and Sustained Superior Performance Award.

Tommy was a dedicated member of First Baptist Church where he served on the Trustee Board for a number of years until his health began to decline, and was instrumental in the completion of many projects within the building. For his dedication he was later given the title of Trustee Emeritus.

Tommy loved to travel, shop, and meet “The Boys” on Thursday for their weekly lunch. He had a sweet tooth to no end and was an avid NCSU wolfpack fan! He loved his wolfpacks so much he had it tattooed on his prosthesis, and we had to listen to him howl when they beat UNC! He was a master builder/repairman along with his brothers Eric, John and George, and enjoyed working with his hands. Most importantly he loved his family and was a source of knowledge to us all. He was a two time kidney transplant recipient, and instrumental in keeping our family updated on our rare kidney disease study at Wake Forest University.

Tommy was preceded in death by his parents; his siblings: Henry Lee Jones, Lonnette J. Farrington, Frank Jones, Lorena J. Ryan, Eric Jones Jr., Warren Jones, Helen J. Fegins, William Jones, John Jones and his father in-law Junior Dowdy and brother in-law David Dowdy. He leaves to mourn his wife of 55 years Stella Jones of the home; son Tommy Jones, Jr. of the home; daughters Monica Jones of Durham, NC and Cassandra Farrington of Chapel Hill, NC; sister Janie Jones of Chapel Hill, NC; brother George Jones (Deborah) of Fayetteville, NC; grandsons Trey and Arthur Farrington of Chapel Hill, NC; mother in-law Katie Dowdy of the home; sister in-laws Lind Jones of Durham, NC and Julia Jones of Chapel Hill NC; numerous nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.