Graveside services for Helen Jones, 86, Arapaho resident, will be held 10:00 A.M., Friday, June 5, 2020, in the Mound Valley Cemetery in Thomas, OK, officiated by Rev. Dean Brookshier and under the direction of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home.
Helen (Towner) Jones was born September 24, 1933 to Verno and Elida (Palmer) Towner in Putnam, OK and passed away Thursday, May 28, 2020 in Arapaho, OK.
Helen was raised in Putnam and graduated from Putnam High School in 1951. She moved to Oklahoma City to attend and graduate from Draughns School of Business. She began a career with an insurance company as bookkeeper and met her soon-to-be-husband, Perry Jones, and they were married in 1955. They moved to Atlanta, Georgia for a short time where her only child, Clyde William, was born and then on to Birmingham, AL.
Mr. Jones preceded her in death in the early 1980s, and she returned to Western Oklahoma to be near family. She went to work for the Thomas Nursing Home, becoming a certified nurse’s aide and worked there until her retirement.
In 2003 she began a special relationship with an old childhood friend, Garland Tuffy Howell after he gave her a ride on his Harley Davidson through Western Oklahoma. She made Arapaho her home for the past 17 years as a companion to Tuffy. They enjoyed numerous activities together in addition to riding the Harley. They played dominoes at the Putnam Senior Center and traveled to South Fork, CO to fish and enjoy family. They also enjoyed going to and supporting Arapaho-Butler sporting events.
She was a member of the Arapaho United Methodist Church and the Putnam Ladies Quilters Club. She also loved to read, spend time on her iPad, and she was an avid Alabama sports fan.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Perry; her son, Clyde William Jones; and her brothers, Marvin Towner and twins Melvin and Elvin Towner.
She is survived by her companion, Tuffy Howell, of Arapaho; his children and their families, Gary Howell and wife Ruth Ann, Tony Howell and wife Sandra, all of Arapaho, Karen Owen and husband Gary of Clinton, and Sandra Orth and husband Don of Elk City; one sister-in-law, Pat Towner of League City, TX; several nieces and nephews, including Marcia Towner of Mustang; a daughter-in-law, Evelyn Jones of Lancaster, South Carolina; grandchildren, Tim Morgan and wife Tamra of Ooltewah, TN, and Nikki Milgate and husband Brian of Charlotte, North Carolina.
She is also survived by a step-son, Perry Jones Jr. of Pennsylvania; a stepdaughter-in-law, Cynthia Jones of Charlotte, North Carolina; a step-grandson, Robert N. Jones and wife Melissa of Charlotte, North Carolina; and a step-granddaughter, Courtney Crowe and husband Matt of Mooresville, North Carolina, and their families.
The family has requested donations to Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for Cancer research in lieu of flowers.