Horace Edwin Jones' Obituary
Funeral services for Horace Edwin Jones, 87, of DeRidder, LA will be Wednesday, April 22, 2009, in Labby Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in DeRidder with Rev. Doyle Cooper and Rev. Lindsey Burns officiating. Burial will follow in Beauregard Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 P M until 9 P M, Tuesday, April 21, 2009, and from 9 A M until time of the service, Wednesday, April 22, 2009, in Labby Memorial Funeral Home in DeRidder.
Horace Edwin Jones went to be with the Lord on April 18, 2009. He was born August 16, 1921, in Merryville, LA to Joseph Hampton Jones and Tressie Foshee. They instilled in him a strong connection to the land and great understanding of the connections found throughout nature.
Horace was preceded in death by his parents, his only brother Charles Homer, and his eldest daughter Lanelle Jones. Horace is survived by his wife Edna Foreman and their children: Eddie and wife Elizabeth, of New Albany, IN; Tanya Panella and husband Stephen, of Poplarville, MS; and Carolyn Shadix and husband Daniel, of Prattville, AL. In addition, he leaves six grandchildren including Sarah, Emily and Nathan Shadix; Christopher and Elizabeth Jones, and Jessica Panella.
Horace graduated from Merryville High School and began college at Southeastern Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana, Lafayette). World events led Horace to volunteer for the Army Air Corp in 1942. He became a B-25 pilot and flew sixty-two missions over Italy and Southern France. He was highly regarded by his peers and superiors as an outstanding pilot and mentor. In August 1994, as a Second Lieutenant, he received a Presidential Citation. Soon after, in November 1944, as a First Lieutenant, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Horace spent his last ten months in the service flying a C-47 on cargo missions throughout Italy and was discharged in 1945.
Horace resumed his college studies met his sweetheart, Edna. They were married in the summer of 1946. In January 1947, they moved to Farmerville, LA where Horace accepted his first teaching assignment. While in Farmerville, he began Graduate Studies at the University of Arkansas which culminated in a Master of Science in Biology awarded by Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. Horace had a long and distinguished teaching career. For more than thirty-three years, he was an inspiration, guide and, -sometimes-, thorn in the flesh for untold numbers of students in public schools. For some twenty years after his retirement from the public school system, Horace continued to share his knowledge as a part-time teacher at the Lamar Salter Vocational Trade School near Leesville.
In 1960 Horace began a successful farm, using techniques that were forward-looking and holistic in their approach to use of resources. Since selling his farm in 1986, Horace continued to garden and had been teaching a Sunday school class until a decline in his health limited his ability to do those things he loved some much.
What’s your fondest memory of Horace?
What’s a lesson you learned from Horace?
Share a story where Horace's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Horace you’ll never forget.
How did Horace make you smile?