Marilyn Jean Jones

MARILYN JEAN (SPAVEN) JONES, age 88 of Otter Lake, died Thursday, April 4, 2019. Her funeral service will be held at 11AM on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at the Mumford-Hudson Funeral Home. The family will receive visitors on Monday, April 8, 2019 from 2-7PM at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Vassar or an organization of one's choice. Marilyn Jean was born to Walter and Irene (Hayes) Spaven on August 12, 1930. She married David Jones on October 20, 1951 in Otter Lake, Michigan. Together they raised three children: Gary, Dan, and Kim. Hard times were overshadowed by the joys and satisfactions of simple country living, music, worship, an occasional vacation, and lots of love. They exposed their children to work and the satisfaction of jobs well done, time for fulfilling endeavors, and enjoyed seeing them launch out on their own. (Marilyn) Jean enjoyed a 36 year career in teaching, mostly first graders, at the Otter Lake Elementary School, LakeVille Community Schools. She was always endeavoring to instill the desire to learn. She especially enjoyed photographing her students many as first graders, then as seniors and later as brides and/or grooms. Portraits, fine arts, and illustrative images were her favorites; she used her photography in many projects. She enjoyed traveling and visited many countries in the world. She did extensive family researches, authored and self-published Jones Family History, Jean's Story , several booklets, and yearly calendars. Seldom succumbing to pain and misery, she was ambitious, building, remodeling, photographing, traveling, and writing. She was a graduate of Eastern Michigan University. (Marilyn) Jean was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Vassar, and was a charter member of the Otter Lake Church of the Nazarene, member of NEA, MEAR, Otter Lake Literary Club and former member of professional Photographers of America. She cherished her family, friends, colleagues and students. She is survived by her 2 sons: Gary (Stella) Jones and Dan (Kathy Nichols) Jones; daughter: Kim Jones; sister, Sharon Taylor; sister-in-law, Arlene Jones; grandchildren: Erica (Fiancée Greg Granath) Dobson, Julie (Chad) Springsteen, Cathy (Chris) Sweeney, Kristina (Preston) Jordan, Ashley (Adam) Schisler; 14 great grandchildren; 3 great great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, David; brother, Richard in 1952; father in 1991; mother in 1997; her only grandson, Philip Jones in 2005; her great great granddaughter, Meadow in 2017; and brother-in-law, Dewey Jones in 2010. She is now part of Eternity.