Ethel Brown Jones, 80, educator, minister's wife, hat fancier
The wife of the Rev. Richard W. Jones, pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Burlington Township, Ethel Brown Jones was known for her hats.
The wife of the Rev. Richard W. Jones, pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Burlington Township, Ethel Brown Jones was known for her hats.
Especially the ones she wore to Sunday worship.
Mrs. Jones, said daughter Leslie Williams had "an immense collection of elaborate hats, in every color."
For years, Williams said, "one of the extra bedrooms in my parents' home was filled with boxes of hats."
And on Sundays, Mrs. Jones' very visible presence was a statement, her daughter said, "that she was there, praying for him and supporting him."
Mrs. Jones was known, Williams said, as the first lady of Tabernacle Baptist.
On Wednesday, March 16, Mrs. Jones, 80, of Willingboro, a leader at Tabernacle since her husband became pastor in 1961, died of breast cancer at Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro.
Elmer Smith, a former columnist and editorial page member for the Daily News, had known her since he joined the congregation in 1975.
"What I saw in her, more than anything else," Smith said, "was an example for the women of the congregation in the way she carried herself. Just her dignity."
And, Smith said, "I was most impressed by her when she came to my retirement party five years ago" in Philadelphia. "It was just a thrill to see her there.
"She was in a wheelchair," Smith recalled. "It was difficult for her to get around. She had made an arrangement to come, and I really appreciated that."
Born in Philadelphia, Mrs. Jones grew up in Morton, Delaware County, and graduated from the former Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural High School, where she was editor of the senior class yearbook.
Mrs. Jones earned a bachelor's in elementary education at what is now Cheyney University in 1957 and married in 1958.
She began her career as an eighth-grade teacher in Cape May Court House, taught first and second grades in Burlington City schools from 1961 to 1976, and then taught first to sixth grades in the Willingboro School District before retiring in the 1980s.
The Tabernacle church, her daughter said, has grown from 100 congregants in 1961 to more than 2,000 today, and from a single small building to a property covering two city blocks.
A deaconess, Mrs. Jones was a Sunday school teacher and a member of the women's choir, among other efforts.
A member of the Ministers' Wives of Burlington County, she was its vice president in the 1980s. She also was a member of the Retired Teachers Association of Burlington County.
Besides her daughter, Mrs. Jones is survived by daughter Jennifer Early, a sister, two grandsons, and a great-granddaughter. Her husband died in 2010.
A viewing was set from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 26, at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 150 E. Second St., Burlington, before an 11 a.m. funeral service, with interment in Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson.
A decision on a site for donations is pending.
Condolences may be offered to the family at www.wrwoodyfuneralhome.com.
610-313-8134@WNaedele