Service
Saturday, January 11, 2025 |Wake:10:00 a.m. |Service: 11:00 a.m.
Metropolitan United Methodist Church |548 Queenstown Road | Severn, MD 21144
Interment
St. Rest Cemetery | 7310 Ridge Road | Hanover, Maryland 21076
Obituary
Naomi Gaither Jones was born to Sarah and Oscar Gaither on November 14, 1932 a few minutes after her twin, Betty. Naomi enjoyed a rich and rewarding life that was abundant in blessings including nearly 70 years of matrimony, eight adoring children, and significant achievements in education and career. She was especially engaged with service to her church, Metropolitan United Methodists Church. The “Queen of Queenstown” enjoyed her last Christmas at home surrounded by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many loved ones. She passed away peacefully there on December 27th.
Naomi attended the historic Queenstown Rosenwald School that was directly across the street from her family’s home on Queenstown Road--thanks to her parents providing the land for the school’s construction. A precocious child, Naomi excelled in all subjects, but was especially keen on math. In fact, well into her eighties, she could easily calculate equations in her head.
It was on the school bus headed to Wiley H. Bates High School that Naomi met her future husband and everlasting love, (the late) Joseph N. Jones. Their plans to build a life together compelled Naomi to truncate her college plans at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and return to Maryland. Naomi juggled masterfully her full-time job at Westinghouse Electric Corporation with marriage, child rearing, church commitments, community obligations, and attending Morgan State University. She even found the time to enjoy her hobbies of pinochle and travel. For ten years she would take her family annually to New York City to expose them to art, theatre, and life in a bustling city. Naomi modeled for her children that no achievement was beyond their grasp.
Always an advocate for education, Naomi returned to college after all her children were in school or had graduated. She completed her degree in accounting and finance at the University of Baltimore. Years later, Naomi answered her calling for deeper spiritual engagement by attending Washington Bible College with her dear friend and sister in Christ, Deaconess Gertrude Dailey. She parlayed those efforts into earning a Master of Science from Loyola College in 1981. With her specialty in pastoral counselling, Naomi volunteered for Anne Arundel County’s Friendly Visitors program for several years. While she struggled with physical challenges in her final years, her witt remained intact until she made her blessed transition. Her words of wisdom and whimsy will remain with us forever.
Naomi is survived by her children: Tyrone Jan Jones (Roxanne), Jennifer “Muffy” Awkard (Walter), Angela “Angi” Jones, Corey Jones (Robyn), Joseph “Jo-Jo” Jones, Pamela Matthews (Maurice Sr.), Gordon Kip Jones (Angela), Joni Floyd (Legusta Jr.), 18 grandchildren, her twin sister, Betty G. Henry (Willis Henry), her sister, Marva Williams; her sisters-in-law, Carol Ann Gaither and Pearlene Hammond; and a host of great grandchildren as well as relatives and friends
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