Cora Lee Reed Jones

Cora Lee Reed Jones died on Easter Sunday April 1, 2018 at the age of 95.

Cora Lee was born on May 18, 1922 in Wetumka, Oklahoma to Robert Edward Lee Reed and Hattie Mae Cotton Reed.  A testament to the strong woman she would become, she worked incredibly hard during her young years to overcome polio, which she contracted before the age of two.  This was no small feat, and remained a true badge of honor throughout her long life.  Cora Lee graduated from Lubbock High School in 1939.

She married Charles W. Jones on September 16, 1942 in Phoenix, Arizona and traveled throughout the country with him until 1944 when he deployed for active combat in World War II.  While Charles was fighting in the European theater, Cora Lee attended college and graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Business Administration, another badge of honor, given the time period and how rare it was for a female to earn a college degree.  After the war, she worked and supported Charles while he finished his degree.  They started their family in 1948 with the birth of their son Eugene and then had two daughters, Julia in 1950 and Laura Lee in 1951.  The family moved around Texas numerous times over the next decade.  In 1959, they settled in Ballinger, where Cora Lee remained until 2001 when she moved to Houston to be close to her three children and their families.

Cora Lee was a homemaker and loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother.  She was very active and supportive in all her children’s various activities as they were growing up. An avid seamstress, she made everything from baby clothes to formal dresses and even coats on her trusty Singer sewing machine. She was a devout woman of strong faith, with a true servant’s heart.  Cora Lee was very active in the Methodist Church, teaching Sunday school and participating in United Methodist Women and bible study.  She was always looking for opportunities to help those in need and acted as a “surrogate grandmother” to underprivileged youth for as long as she was able, which remained one of the biggest joys of her life.  She also loved music and the performing arts and especially enjoyed attending theater, opera, and ballet performances with her daughters after moving to Houston.

She was preceded in death by her husband Charles in 1990, her mother Hattie Reed in 1994, her sister Gille Brown in 2005, and her granddaughter Laura Ellen Jones Lee in 2015.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Eugene and Fran Jones of League City; daughter, Julia Jones of Houston; daughter and son-in-law, Laura Lee and David Reininger of Katy; grandchildren, Katherine Schultz of Houston and Charlie Alvarado of Austin; great grandchildren, Bailey and Max Pruitt of Plano; and sister-in-law, Faye Jones Brown of Cypress.

Special thanks go out to Lydia Krawtzowa and her staff at Comfy Home and to A*Med Community Hospice for the superior care they gave Cora Lee during the last years of her life.

In lieu of a formal service, a celebration of Cora Lee’s life and interment of the ashes will take place at a future date. Memorials may be sent to First United Methodist Church of Ballinger or to a charity of your choosing.