Eugene John Jones, Jr. Obituary (1940 - 2021)

Eugene (Gene, Dad, Paw Paw, Pops, Bubba) John Jones, Jr., passed away at his home in Willis, Texas on Saturday, January 23, 2021 at the age of 81. Gene is survived by his sons Ronald Jones and wife, Charlotte of Dickinson, Texas; Dean Jones and wife, Dawn of Taylor, Texas; Matt Jones and wife, Brandy of Santa Fe, Texas; daughter Kara Gonthier and husband, Daniel of Willis, Texas; grandchildren Megan Jones, Zach Jones and partner Megan Crosser, and Bryce Jones; great grandsons Brayden Salathiel and James Crosser; sister Mary Risinger of Texas City, Texas; brother David Jones and wife, Debbie of Santa Fe, Texas; sister Pamela Johnson of Camp Wood, Texas; and numerous nephews, great nephews, nieces, great nieces and cousins. He is preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Pauline Jones, and his life partner, Judy Orr. Gene was born on January 12, 1940 in Channelview, Texas to Eugene and Pauline Jones. He graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1959. During Gene's high school years, he worked in his Dad's TV repair business in Alta Loma, Texas. A couple years after high school Gene started his career in the automotive dealership industry at Boyd Mullen Chevrolet in Texas City. After spending 30+ years in Parts and Service Management, Gene retired in the late 1990s. Gene married Joyce Bastian in 1962 and over the next 30 years they built a family and raised three loving sons together. In 1974 the family moved to a rural home on 2 acres in Dickinson, Texas where he and Joyce enjoyed the next 18 years raising the boys and enjoying life in the country. After 1991 the boys were grown and Gene reunited with his next life partner Judy Orr and her daughter Kara Gonthier. In 1993 Gene and Judy made their way to the East Texas town of Colmesneil where they spent the next 13 years until she preceded him in death in 2006. Gene then moved to Willis, Texas in 2007 to a home across the street from his daughter Kara and her husband Daniel where he lived until his passing. Gene was an avid Outdoorsman, Tradesman and Tinkerer where he enjoyed tackling many different projects around the house with construction, automotive repair, carpentry, and leisure activities. One of Gene's greatest passions was hunting with his boys every year on the ranch he bought in 1976 near the town of Pumpville in West Texas. He also enjoyed fishing since he was a kid and passed on his passion of hunting and fishing to his boys. When he wasn't working or away in the outdoors, Gene could always be found working on something around the house. He was either constructing some type of structure, doing carpentry work, or tinkering with cars, lawnmowers, TVs or anything else that needed fixing. Most everyone remembers Gene as a kind/witty/patient/generous/giving person who was willing to help anyone in need. Some of his life's pleasures were to lend a helping hand to those in need and bring them some joy in their life. He was a faithful servant of the Lord throughout his life and really built an even stronger connection with the church and his faith the last 25 years. He would read the bible on a daily basis and enjoyed watching and learning from Pastor Charles Stanley on TV. Gene took great solitude and peace in his later years knowing his faith in the Lord would lead him to a beautiful, eternal afterlife in Heaven where he would be reunited with his family and friends that preceded him in death. The family will greet guests from 2-3:00 p.m followed by a 3:00 p.m. Memorial Service on Friday, February 5, 2021 at Carnes Funeral Home, 3100 Gulf Freeway, Texas City, Texas. Due to Covid restrictions, the funeral home asks for masks to be worn and social distancing to be practiced. For those unable to attend, Carnes will provide a Facebook Live option for the service. Since Gene was a very giving person who loved God, his family and to pay it forward by helping others in need, the family asks in lieu of flowers, to please pay it forward and help someone else in need or to make a donation to your church or favorite charity. You could also just enjoy the outdoors with your family, plant a tree, go for a walk and enjoy all the beauty of the outdoors that he loved so much. In honor of Gene please remember to always pray hard, love strongly, and forgive easily; life is too short for anything else.