JUNIE "LELAND" JONES, 88, passed away Nov. 10,
2013, in Midland, TX. Burial was with Military
Honors at Fairview Cemetery.
Leland was born April 12, 1925, to Junie Layfette
Jones & Cora Lee Whitaker in Rotan, TX. Leland was
raised with his siblings in Ranger, TX, where he
graduated from high school in the Class of 1944.
As a young man he worked in his family's cafe in
Ranger, before and after his tour of duty with the
U.S. Navy. He served his country honorably during
WWII on the Neshanic naval ship in the Pacific
Ocean. In 1947, Leland then began a 39 year long
career with Southwestern Bell; his first post with
the phone company was in Marfa, TX, where he met
his bride of 59 years, Frances Elloise Wheeless.
They spent their early years of marriage in Marfa,
until Leland was transferred to Midland in 1956,
where they have remained together ever since.
Leland had a kind & gentle heart and loved spending
his days with Frances & working his various hobbies.
Leland enjoyed working with his hands and never
shied away from doing the job right, even if it
meant more time and labor. He worked tirelessly on
their beautiful home in Midland and their beloved
retreat, the cabin in Cloud Croft, NM. Leland was
a talented, self-trained, craftsman and he could
build anything and took great pride in completing
the project right, whether it was the cabin, a
fence, cabinets, iron work, painting or even main-
taining their cars. Leland was also sure to keep
a beautiful yard, which he always enjoyed spending
time in with Frances and their dogs or cat. Leland
& Frances loved to travel together, which in the
early years of marriage entailed road trips and
camping, but as the years past, they expanded their
travel to most of the United States, South America,
Panama Canal, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong
Kong, and China, Mexico, and even got to fly on the
Concord plane to France. Leland was an outstanding
traveling companion, he was always ready to go, and
adjusted plans along the way to make the trip most
pleasant. Besides travel, his wood working and
construction hobbies, he enjoyed raising dogs with
Frances.
At the time of his death, Leland was survived by
his beloved wife, Frances; niece, Suzann Haechten
and husband, Allen of Midland and nephew, Clayton
Hutchinson and wife, Levi, of Salt Lake City. His
sisters were Beatrice Jones Boyd (RHS-1940) and
Jewel Maxine Jones (RHS-1944).