Eunice Neoma Harp Jones
The season of spring welcomed Eunice Neoma Harp to the Westville, Oklahoma farmhouse of Oscar and Catherine Harp on March 21, 1925. As a young girl, Eunice learned along side of her mother to garden, milk cows, snap green beans, gather eggs, pluck chickens, bake biscuits, and make pies. Eunice, affectionately nicknamed “Sug,” loved attending church where as a five-year-old she met Bobby Jones whom she would later marry.
Eunice was one of the brightest students in the one-room school house. She road a horse to school, and loved playing baseball with the other children. Her childhood memories included the installation on the farm of a telephone, electric lights, and an indoor bathroom. She graduated from Westville High School in 1942. With the encouragement of her older brother Gene, she moved to St. Louis to work for Emerson Electric. At the age of 18, in 1943, Eunice married Bob on the family farm. Bob and Eunice Jones made St Louis their first home. Bob and Eunice moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas where Bob earned his Bachelor’s Degree and where their favorite (and only) son, John Kenneth, was born in 1947. Sewing skills and lots of love turned their little apartment into a welcoming home for their baby and other college couples who became their close friends.
Work opportunities took Bob and Eunice to Wichita, Kansas where they bought a two-bedroom house on Christine Street. Their favorite (and only) daughter was born in 1952. This family expansion resulted in their move to a three-bedroom house with a large back yard on East Morris Street. Life was enriched by a variety of worship and social events at East Heights Methodist Church. Summers were times to visit the family farm and to go on exciting camping trips to places like Colorado, South Dakota, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
A 1962 move was in store for Eunice and her family when Bob was transferred with the Boeing Company to Seattle. The move took them through Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore. Many East Heights and Boeing friends transferred to Seattle and became a “Wichita family” which developed even stronger bonds as members of the First United Methodist Church of Bellevue. If you visited her home, she gave you the warmest welcome, the best food, the most fun, a tour of her blooming garden and a personal introduction to some of her 500 owls. Eunice loved to have a girlfriend come by for a visit, a group of ladies in to work on crafts for the Church bazaar, or “everyone” over for ham dinner and an egg hunt at Easter or Turkey and mincemeat pie at Thanksgiving. Outside of the home, she made it a priority to join Bob and friends for square dancing, bowling, and playing Bridge or Pinochle. She was faithful to staff the local election polling place. She delighted in attending and planning “Methodoers” theme parties that called for costumes, games, prizes, and ethnic foods at the Church. Eunice loved to take trips especially when doing so meant time with family or friends in places such as Alaska; Oregon; Hawaii; Arizona; Washington, D.C.; Oklahoma, Arkansas, New England; Canada; Mexico; Norway; and Sweden. When a new grandchild was born, there was no distance or obstacle that could hold her back from going to greet that “precious” new member of her family.
Eunice took great pride in her family. Happiness for her was listening to family members describe their latest accomplishments, surprising them with special gifts, or making their favorite cake or casserole for their birthday celebration. The family includes the following –
Dear husband of 67 years: John Robert “Bob” Jones
Brothers: Gene and wife Virginia Harp, Richard (deceased) and wife Deanie (Harp) Davis
Son: Ken and wife Lynn Jones of Eugene, OR
Daughter: Debra and husband Carl Christensen of Seattle, WA
Grandchildren: Rob and Melissa Jones of Portland, OR
Jessica and Jeff Ruthardt of Bend, OR
Peter and Nellena Christensen of South Korea
John Todd Christensen of Azusa, CA
Greatgrandchildren: Tuesday Jones
Jacob, Kasey, and Ian Ruthardt
. . . brothers- and sisters-in-law and many nieces and nephews on both the Harp and Jones sides of the family.
Eunice Jones maintained a pleasant and welcoming disposition as the recipient of tender care at Sunrise Assisted Living of Bellevue. Even after getting this long horrible disease, Eunice remained social. She always greeted visitors with a smile or a wave and loved getting and giving hugs. She passed away quietly on November 10, 2010, from the effects of a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. The family thanks you for sharing in the memory of Eunice Jones. Any memorial gifts may be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association in her honor or to the First United Methodist Church of Bellevue.