Pearley Ledwell Jones Barnes
Pearley Ledwell, born June 11, 1938, was the child of Herman and Lucille Ledwell. She was number 6 of ten children. She had 6 brothers and 3 sisters.
Mom told us stories about how she and Aunt Dot would walk to school each day. Growing up as a child, she was a hard worker and could do just as much work on the farm as her brothers. She was a tomboy and would work in the fields just like they did. When she was a sophomore and junior in high school, she went to Wildwood NJ during the summer to work to earn money for the upcoming school year.
After graduating from Liberty High School, she went to Pontiac Michigan to visit her oldest brother. She found a job and decided to stay for a while. While there, she met and married our father, David Jones. She gave birth to three children, Tammie, Sandra, and Terrie. We lived in Michigan for a few years before relocating to Asheboro, NC.
After returning home, Mom worked two jobs, one in a factory and the other in a chicken facility to support herself and three children. She was a hard worker and would do whatever it took to take care of her family.
In 1974 she married Oliver Barnes. Shortly after they were married, they adopted a daughter, Shawna.
After working many years in a factory, she decided to change jobs and went to work at Clapp’s Nursing Home and Randolph Hospital. She was great with taking care of people that were sick. Her passion was working with Senior Citizens. Later she decided to further her education and went to Randolph Technical College where she received a Nurse’s, Assistant Degree. She worked for the hospital for many years and because of her experience and knowledge of what was needed to take care of people, she could do the work of an RN and would often be able to tell the nursing staff the best way to handle many situations. She was known there for putting out fires.
Our mom was a woman of many talents. She could do anything, from changing a tire on the car to fixing things around the house. Her hobbies were growing beautiful flowers, sewing and crocheting quilts.
She was also a great cook and loved to feed people. She was very caring and would often reach out to help anyone in need. Mom was known for helping anyone in need, especially her family. She was a great problem solver. On many occasions, her siblings and friends would often seek her advice on issues, and she would always be there to help find solutions. We can remember when she allowed several young ladies that needed a place to stay to move in with us until they could get back on their feet.
Mom was a God-fearing woman and never missed a chance to remind us of who God was and how thankful we should be. She was a very active member of Pentecostal Church where we attended until we were grown and moved away. She always taught us the importance of being involved in church and keeping God first in our life.
In later years before losing her battle to cancer, she would remind us always to find a family that we can help and do our best to make a difference.
As you can see, our mother was a phenomenal woman! We miss you, Mom.
Written by her children.
