I met Dorothy on the telephone. After visiting Hill Farm in Louisa, Virginia, a farm owned by our mutual ancestor Daniel Gardner in the early 1800s the present owner told me of this very nice lady who had visited them not long before. She gave me Dorothy's phone number and I called her. I remember the call so well. She solved so many Gardner mysteries during the call and when ending she invited me and my wife to come visit. I promised I would then she added, "you better not wait too long, I am 85 years old you know."

We did visit several times and I cherished each and every visit. As her eyesight failed, she would continue to write notes and letters with the sentences trailing off somewhere on the table. We would joke about her sending the table instead of the letter. Nothing disturbed her sweet and wonderful contenance.

Dorothy -- we miss you but look forward to seeing you at the Eastern Gate were we can walk around and meet all our other relatives.

Love ya, cousin Ted and Dianne

Following from the Richmond Times Dispatch 11/16/2006

JONES Dorothy Gardner Jones, 93, died at her home in Ashland on November 14, 2006. She was the eldest child of the late Joseph Moore Jones and Sara Gardner Jones. She was preceded in death by her brothers, Joseph Moore Jones Jr., Callom Hunter Jones; and her sister, Louise Bohannan Jones. She is survived by her sisters-in-law, Marcyne O. Jones and Louise W. Jones; her nieces, Sandra Jones Lynne, Sarah Jones Byrne and her husband, Larry, Janet Jones Reister and her husband, Terry; her nephews, Stephen Hunter Jones and his wife, Donna, Scott Whitlow Jones and his wife, Martha, Stuart Barret Jones and his wife, Karen; her great-nephews, Allan Hunter Lynne and his wife, Julie, Joshua Joseph Lynne, John Andrew Lynne and his wife, Karen, Joseph Clay Reister, Robert Carl Ridout, Caleb Hunter Jones, and Miles Pendleton Jones; her great-nieces, Marcie Byrne Moyer and her husband, Don, Anne Holladay Byrne, Annie Barron Ridout, Stephanie Marie Jones, and Sarah Natalie Jones; her great-great-nephew, Ethan Callom Lynne; and her great-great- nieces, Dorothy Marie Lynne, Sally Katherine Lynne, Morgan Ann Moyer and Emily Claire Lynne. She graduated from Randolph-Macon College in 1932, received her MSW from the College of William and Mary in 1938 and her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1942. From 1942 to 1943, she did research for the Rockefeller Foundation. She also studied at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1943 to 1978, she was on the faculty of Winthrop College, Rock Hill, South Carolina, retiring in 1978 as Professor of Sociology Emerita. She was a lifelong member of Ashland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The family will receive friends at her home, 309 South James Street, Thursday and Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. A memorial service will be held at Ashland Christian Church on Saturday, November 18 at 11 a.m. Memorial gifts may be made to Ashland Christian Church Building Fund, 301 South James Street, Ashland, Va. 23005.

Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch from 11/16/2006 - 11/17/2006. (http://www.legacy.com/TimesDispatch/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=19932709)

Prayer at Memorial Service of Dorothy Gardner Jones

given by

Kathy Reinger, Minister

Ashland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

November 18, 2006

         Everlasting God, in Christ’s resurrection you turned the disciples’ despair into triumph, and their sorrow into joy.  In your keeping there is shelter from the storm, and in your mercy, there is comfort for the sorrows of life.  Surround us now with your comforting embrace.  Plant our feet firmly upon the Rock which is Jesus Christ and bring to our hearts His promise of new life for those who live and die in him.

         We come before you thankful for the life of Dorothy Gardner Jones, a life well lived.  And now, O God, out of the depths of faith, we thank you for the new life which shall most certainly be hers through Jesus Christ our Lord.

         Almost 94 years ago, Great God, you breathed into Dorothy the breath of life.  And all of her life she claimed you as Lord and Savior.  We take heart and rejoice in our belief that on this day you claim her as one of your own.

         Comfort her family and friends.  Dorothy loved her family and had a way of making each one feel so very special.  In fact, O God, she made each person she met feel like they were the most important person in the world.  She modeled for us what was important in life---not things---not awards and recognition---but people.  If someone was in need, Dorothy was the first person there to lend a hand.

         When someone was hurting, Dorothy brought comfort and strength by her presence and her words of wisdom.  We thank you for her sense of humor.  She brought laughter to our lives.  Her laughter will live in our hearts forever.  Dorothy modeled for us perseverance.  Even though she had lost her sight, she didn’t give up.  In these last years, she has read more books through the eyes of others, than most of us will read in a lifetime.  We celebrate on this day that she can now see Ethan, Dot, Sally, Morgan and Emily.  Thank you, God.

         Dorothy never stopped learning.  As a gifted teacher, Dorothy didn’t just teach her students, she transformed their lives.  She helped her students to see how they could make a difference in the world.  In fact, each one here has sat at her feet and soaked up her words of wisdom.  A part of Dorothy is in all of us.  Help us to nurture the seeds she has planted so that we may live our lives in her honor, praising You and serving others.

         May the fine memories we have of her abide with us throughout the years and sweeten as time goes by.  May the faith she evidenced in her words and deeds be an inspiration and challenge to each of us.  And may we continue to grow in our knowledge and love of You until that promised day comes when death is no more and we are united with You and her in your blessed kingdom.  This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

Thanksgiving Sunday

November 19, 2006  

Sermon written and given by

Kathy Reinger, Minister

Ashland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

            In Chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew, Jesus is teaching the crowds the will of God.  These chapters instruct the disciples, shaping their identity and lifestyle.  A large crowd is following Jesus.  He goes up on the mount and like all teachers of his day, Jesus sits down.  The crowd gathers around.  Even though there are hundreds of people, you can hear the breeze rustling the bushes.  A hush of anticipation is in the air waiting for the teacher to begin class.

         Jesus begins with “Blessed are in the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  On and on the teacher goes for eleven verses.  Then he tells his students---“you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  Do not judge others,” he instructs.  Jesus’ students sit spellbound for the next three chapters as he gives them life lessons.

         In today’s scripture Jesus instructs us not to worry.  Don’t worry about what you will eat, drink or wear. God will take care of you.  Dorothy Jones is the one person that I have met who lived by this passage.  Eating and clothing were not at the top of her priority list.  Teaching was the most important thing that mattered to Dorothy Jones.  And she didn’t just teach, she transformed lives.  She invested her entire being into the life of each and every person she met.  When you were with Dorothy, you were loved and the only thing that mattered in that moment in her time.

         This week I reflected on the first day of class with my new teacher, Dr. Dorothy Jones. It was Monday morning, my first day in the office at Ashland Christian Church.  The drive from Mechanicsville to Ashland seemed so long.  It was a grey, cloudy day which never helps my mood.  I was sad and lonely and on the verge of tears.  We didn’t know anyone.  We had left our son and daughter-in-law in North Carolina and I was so homesick.

         I had been at the office a little over an hour when Anne Arnette showed up.  She had been appointed by the elders to take me around Ashland to meet people.  (If I knew then what I know now, I might have thought the elders were trying to get rid of me before I even started!)

         The first place she wanted to take me was the home of Dorothy Jones.  We go out and get into her blue Chevy - Anne doesn’t use her seat belt and the keys are in the car.  We drive out the drive and over to Dorothy’s house.  Dorothy greets me in her Carolina Blue sweat suit and says, “Hi, I’m Dorothy Jones.  This is Esther.  I went to Carolina and won’t hold it against you that you went to Duke.  The door is never locked.  Come over anytime for lunch.  If we’re not here, help yourself.  There are plenty of beds if you want to come over and take a nap.”  On March 22, 2004, I became one of Dorothy’s many students.

         Her first lesson is that faith is not only believing, it is responding, taking action.  Faith forgives, faith is humble and faith shows gratitude to the proper person.  Dorothy’s faith was a faith of action.  She was never too busy, never too tired and she certainly didn’t wait for someone else to do it!  There was no job too tough, no job too nasty and no job she wouldn’t at least try to accomplish.  Try and find a distinguished college professor on the roof fixing leaks.  That’s what Dorothy did at Winthrop.

         As her students, we have all learned the meaning of generosity.  If Dorothy had it, she gave it away.  If she received a box of grapefruit, she ate one and gave 38 away.  How many here have ever tried to pay her back money you owed her?  You just had to leave it on the table because she wouldn’t take it.  I am worried about Cross’s Grocery Store.  What are they going to do now that Dorothy won’t be buying and delivering chickens to everyone in Ashland who is sick?

         Another powerful lesson Dorothy taught us was to take care of others.  Help those who are the unwanted, the strays, the people others turn away from.  You know who they are.  The people that society shuns.  It was noted that Dorothy took her students out to the cotton fields.  She would ask the driver to let them out at the edge of the woods so they could walk through the fields to the primitive housing of the pickers.  Dorothy wanted her students to see first hand who we are called to care for.  We have been taught, not by lecture, but by example to reach out and love the least of these.

         Dorothy taught us that sometimes, you just have to break with tradition to change lives.  Liz Crowe shared the story of her mother, Alice Edwards Lee, who was in Dorothy’s class at Winthrop.  Mrs. Lee graduated valedictorian, at the age of 16, from high school in a farming community in South Carolina.  Her parents sent her to Winthrop to major in Home Economics, like the women in her family before her.  Dorothy was just appointed head of the Sociology and Social Work Department and was Mrs. Lee’s advisor.  Dorothy saw something in Alice and told her she should major in social work.  “But my parents have sent me to major in home economics,” she responded.  Dorothy got on the train and traveled a hundred miles to rural South Carolina to talk to her parents.  At the end of the meeting, they agreed that their daughter should major in social work.  Under Dorothy’s care, a quiet, extremely shy girl became one of the top debaters on Winthrop’s debate team.  Dorothy didn’t just teach students, she transformed their lives.  And that is what Dorothy wants each one of us to do in our day- to-day living.  TRANSFORM THE LIVES AROUND US.  She taught us never to be too busy to make a difference in somebody’s life.

         Our teacher has taught us when adversity strikes, regroup and move on.  At the age of 19, Dorothy had begun a teaching career at Miss Ann Herndon’s Primary School, right down on James St.  She later confessed to Alice Lee Taylor that it was the biggest mistake she ever made.  Dorothy didn’t get bogged down in self-pity.  She didn’t feel trapped.  She moved on in life.  Teaching primary school was not her gift.  In faith, Dorothy set out for higher education.

         For all of you great-nieces and nephews who are now in college or will soon be in college, here is something you need to keep in the back of your mind.  When she was a college freshman, Dorothy had to ride for an hour on the train, followed by 45 minutes on a street car and a walk of about a mile to an 8 a.m. class.  There is no excuse for not getting to class on time.  She molded for all of us perseverance and determination - not to mention the value of education.  Never stop being a student.  Even though she lost her sight, Dorothy Jones continued to study and learn.  If you have a goal in

life---go after it with all your heart.  And work for it.  Don’t expect it to be handed to you.  Dorothy lived her life with passion and commitment and that’s what she wants all of us to do.  She taught us the value of laughter, how a sense of humor can change any situation.  We have learned from Dorothy, to accept each other for who we are, always looking for the positive qualities – not the negative.

         Dorothy Jones will be greatly missed.  So many have said, “This is such a big loss for the Church.”  I agree.  Dorothy would say, “Get out!”  The ground work as been set before us by our teacher.  I understand she was a tough grader so we better measure up and do the work.  Ashland Christian Church was one of her deep loves and she has entrusted its future to each one of us.

         As her students, each one of us has learned something from her.  She has given each of us a special gift---a gift unique for our personality.  Now it is up to us to develop and grow that gift.  When we all pull our gifts together, the ministry of this church should reflect the life of Dorothy Jones.  Let us begin today to live a life of gratitude.  After all, that’s what our teacher taught us – not by lecture, but by example.

         Let us sing the Doxology in our heart every day, thanking God for the life and lessons of Dorothy Jones.

At the point in the service, .T’s “talking watch” announced the time (thanks to Andy) as it did every Sunday she attended church:

                            “DING!   It is now 12 o’clock.”

Then the congregation stood and sang the Doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him all creatures below.

Praise Him above ye Heavenly Hosts,

Praise Father, Son  and Holy Ghost.   Amen.