Merle Dent Jones

Funeral services for Mrs. Merle Dent Jones, 88, of Macon will be held Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, at 3:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Macon. Interment will follow at Oddfellows Cemetery with Cockrell Funeral Home of Macon in charge of services. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church fellowship hall. Rev. Andy Pearson and Rev. Milton Whatley will officiate.Mrs. Jones died Friday, Sept. 9, 2011, at Traceway Manor in Tupelo following an extended illness.She is survived by a son, Gus Jones (Judy) of Tupelo; a son-in-law, Sid Salter (Leilani) of Starkville; two grandchildren, Katherine Brantley Salter of Starkville and Rick Rodgers (Natalie) of Trussville, Ala.; great-grandson Kesler Rodgers of Trussville, Ala.; and her nieces and nephews.She was preceded in death by her husband of 27 years, Capt. Whitney B. Jones Jr., U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps; a daughter, Paula Jones Salter; three sisters, Anne Prince, Willie Walker, and Lucille Williams; a brother, Paul Dent; a half-brother, Emmett Dent; and her parents, Leon and Gertrude Augustus Dent.A native of Macon, Mrs. Jones was a graduate of Macon High School and attended Bowling Green Business University in Bowling Green, Ky.She was an active member of First United Methodist Church in Macon, where she served as church treasurer from 1979-1992. She was a past state treasurer of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a past regent of the Dancing Rabbit Chapter of the DAR. Mrs. Jones was a charter member and past state chaplain of the Mississippi chapter of Magna Charta Dames. She was a charter member and past treasurer of the 17th Century Mashulatubbee Chapter of Colonial Dames. She was a member of the Noxubee County Historical Society.An avid and competitive golfer, Mrs. Jones was a past president of the Zack Brooks Golf Club in Macon. She was the 1985 Noxubee County Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year. She was a member of the Central Academy Booster Club Hall of Fame.Pallbearers will be: Tommy Prince of Amory; Dent Williams of Pensacola, Fla., Sid Salter of Starkville; Rick Rodgers of Trussville, Ala.; Alex Williams of Memphis, Tenn.; and Brandon Pratt of Meridian.Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 162, Macon, Miss.39341.