Bess Harris Jones

Portrait of Bess Harris Jones Headstone Photograph


In Christ

Bess Harris Jones
1913 -

Founding President, Austin
Cerebral Palsy Center 1949 - 1952
Founding President, Volunteer Council,
Chair, Committee to build the chapel,
Austin State School 1954 - 1961
Austin's Most Worthy Citizen
1962
Member, Covernor's Committee
on tuberculosis 1965 - 1972
Member, President's Committee
on Mental Retardation 1969 - 1972
Volunteer, Methodist Church

Back of headstone

Jones
Full Name: Bess Harris Jones
Location: Section:Republic Hill, Section 1 (C1)
Row:T  Number:18
Reason for Eligibility: Wife of Herman Jones 
Birth Date: 1913 
Died: November 9, 2007 
Burial Date: November 13, 2007 
 

JONES, BESS HARRIS (1913 ~ 2007). The following is an obituary for Bess Harris Jones, spouse of Judge Herman Jones. The obituary was published in the November 11, 2007 edition of the Austin American Statesman.

"Bess Harris Jones, longtime civic volunteer and widow of Judge Herman Jones, died Friday, November 9th. The family will receive friends on Monday, November 12th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd. Services will be held in the sanctuary of the University United Methodist Church, 24th and Guadalupe, at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 13, 2007 (parking is available at the Platinum Parking Lot at 25th and Guadalupe). Burial will follow at the Texas State Cemetery.

Bess was born in Smithville, Texas in 1913, the first of four daughters to Bess Nichols and Robert Kinkle Harris. She attended Kidd Key College and Austin College in Sherman before receiving a bachelor of journalism degree from The University of Texas in 1934. During her time at U.T., she was a member of the Glee Club, the Curtain Club, and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.

After graduation, she went to Dallas and worked on the staff of the Texas Centennial, but returned to Austin in 1937 to marry Herman Jones, a legislator from Wise County who later formed law partnerships with Homer Thornberry and then his brother, Perry L. Jones, before becoming a state district judge in 1961.

Bess began her career in Austin as a writer for the Texas Employment Commission and then became a reporter for the Austin American Statesman. Later, she was public information director for the Texas Tuberculosis Association before joining the Development Office at The University of Texas at Austin, where she retired.

However, her life's work was in volunteer service to others. After learning of the severe disabilities of her son, Harris, she devoted the rest of her life to bettering the lives and opportunities of the disabled. She was the founding president of the Austin Cerebral Palsy Center (now Austin Rehabilitation Center), first president of the Volunteer Council at the Austin State School, chairperson of the committee to build the chapel at the State School, and served on the President's Committee on Mental Retardation. In 1962, she was named 'Austin's Most Worthy Citizen.'

Additionally, she served on the Governor's Committee on Tuberculosis and chaired the Building and Grounds Committee at the University United Methodist Church for 20 years. The Church's building maintenance fund is named in her honor.

In later years, she became a member of the founding board of the Austin Community Foundation and was recently made a member emeritus of that board. She was a sustaining member of the Junior League of Austin.

Bess was predeceased by husband, Herman; son, Harris; and sister, Virginia Harris Cockrell. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Robin and Malcolm Cooper and their four children and families: Doug Cooper; Cissy and Mark Warner, and their children, Claire and Charlotte; Bess and Clay Carsner, and their children, Ben Robin, and Sam; and Chris Cooper; her son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Jane Jones and their four children and families: Joshua Jones; Nathan and Sarah Jones and their son, River; Alexis Jones; and Jesse Brandenburg. She is also survived by two sisters, Marian Harris Thornberry and Carolyn Harris Hynson, and a multitude of first, second, and third generation nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to offer its deepest gratitude to the staff at Westminster Manor and Health Care Unit, and particularly, to Mom's caregivers and friends, Jane Taylor, Janie Rivera, Della Barron, and Peggy Davis. Thank you. You are a blessing. Additional appreciation to all who called, reached out to us, or offered your silent prayers.

Contributions may be made to the Volunteer Council at the Austin State School on West 35th St., Austin; the Bess Harris Jones Fund at the University United Methodist Church; or the Austin Community Foundation."

Further information is available through the Texas State Cemetery research department.

Additional Multimedia Files To Download:

#13822) Title:Jones Headstone
Source: Cemetery Photographer
Description: Back of Jones Headstone

 

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