December 14, 1941 – August 4, 2024

Martha Jewel Jones, 82, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Sunday, August 4, 2024. Born in Marlin, Texas, she was the second of four children born to Earnest and Leola L. Sanders. 

Martha was a graduate of the 1960 class of Booker T. Washington High School in Marlin, Texas.  Following graduation, she moved to Houston, Texas to begin her college studies.  As a college student at Texas Southern University (TSU), she met her future husband, who was a student at the University of Houston.  On July 14, 1966, the two of them wed prior to his Air Force deployment.  In 1967, she graduated from TSU with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics, specializing in Early Childhood Development. 

Following graduation, Martha joined her husband as he completed his military assignment. They enjoyed traveling throughout Europe while stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany.  In August 1973, they returned to the United States as a family of four.  That same year, they joined Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, where she was a faithful member for over 50 years. 

Martha’s interest in early childhood education led to her working with a local Head Start program before pursuing her long-term dream of opening a daycare center.  In the early 1970s, Martha and her husband opened Jones Children Center (JCC) in the Hiram Clarke Area of Houston.  The JCC was a well-respected childcare facility, and Martha went above and beyond to ensure the children who attended received an innovative, high-quality, and holistic educational experience.  Through Martha’s leadership, the JCC team created a Pre-K curriculum that ensured four-year-olds could read before entering kindergarten. She was intentional about instilling cultural pride in each student and prioritized exposing the children to new opportunities, such as swimming lessons at the Houston Scuba Academy and formal ballet and tap training. 

In the early 1980s, now a mother of five children and the wife of a practicing physician, her focus shifted.  She used her business acumen to help her husband as he established his medical practice.  For over 20 years, “Rock and Doc” worked together at NWJ Family Practice, providing comprehensive care for families until his untimely death in 2004. 

Martha was an exceptional baker like her mother Leola.  She used the recipes passed down from her mother to create delicious German chocolate cakes, carrot cakes, and pecan pies, to name a few, but also created her own recipes like the infamous pineapple cake. 

Martha Jones was a woman of faith.  Her relationship with Jesus Christ was unshakable and he embodied every part of how she viewed the world. She was a nurturer, and poured into her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren. Witnessing the success of her daughters brought her great joy. She was a devoted wife, mother, aunt, sister and friend. 

Martha was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Dr. Nolon Jones, sisters, Earnest Louise Williams and Brenda Fisher, and brother, Carl Sanders.  She leaves to cherish her memory: her five daughters, Chandra Jones-Sharp, Dr. Kila Jones-Johnson (Dr. Roger Johnson), Nykeba Robinson (Albert Chris Robinson), Nolonda Jones, and Jamila Jones; three grandsons, Jordan Sharp, Joshua Sharp (Hannah Sharp), and Christopher Robinson; two granddaughters, Jaelan Sharp and Naya Jones; five great-grandsons, Ryan Sharp, Malahki Sharp, Amaziah Sharp, Judah Sharp, and Noah Sharp, and a multitude of other relatives, loved ones, and friends. 

Martha Jones will be deeply missed by all those who loved her, but we will carry her memory in our hearts forever.