Barbara Jones Thomas

Barbara Jones Thomas died peacefully on November 4, 2022 with her daughter by her side after a sudden and brief illness.

Barbara Carrol Jones was born on Christmas day, 1935 in Vernon, Texas, the first child of Carrol M. Jones and Ivela Jones (Bell). She was a West Texas native who graduated from Muleshoe High School in Lubbock, TX and went on to graduate from McMurry College, in Abeline, TX (now University) with a degree in Spanish. This love of the Spanish language led to a job teaching 4th grade at the American School in Monterry, Mexico. It was there that she met and fell in love with Monterrey native I. L. Thomas. They were married in 1960 and after studying for advance degrees from Vanderbilt University they moved to Oak Ridge, TN in 1968 where they raised their 2 daughters, Sharene and Lauren. Barbara was very active in the 70’s “health food” scene, teaching classes on healthy cooking, tending to an enormous organic garden, collecting raw milk every week for her family and making everything her family ate from yogurt, to bread to butter to her famous granola. Eventually Barbara and I.L. settled in Gaithersburg, MD where they loved taking advantage of the rich art scene in Washington, DC and where Barbara was a lobbyist on Capitol Hill and docent at the African Art Museum. After the premature death of her beloved husband in 2003, Barbara built a house in The Villages and enjoyed life there for nearly 10 years before moving to Oak Hammock in Gainesville, FL in 2013. Barbara was always an active member of the Unitarian Church wherever she lived and supported their causes with a passion. Barbara will be remembered by those who knew her as a keen observer of our natural world, a lover of flora and fauna, a daredevil who liked to try new things, as a woman whose curiosity about our world and people knew no bounds, who loved to share tips and her knowledge with anyone around her and as someone who loved to travel. Her favorite destinations were Japan, China and Corfu. But mostly she loved her family, her daughters Sharene Jones and Lauren Trafton, her son-in-law, Matt Jones, her precious grandchildren, Jacob, Chloe, Madison and Colby and her dear sister, Linda and brother-in-law, Bob Karr. She was predeceased by her brothers, Kim and Kirk Jones. Barbara was a singular woman and a true force of nature who is truly missed by those who knew and loved her.