Jan Jones

Jan E. Jones, 70, passed away Tuesday, September 6, 2011, surrounded by her loving friends. Visitation is scheduled for Saturday, September 10, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at the Stewart Family Funeral Home. Plans for a memorial tribute in honor of Jan’s legacy will be forthcoming. Born on November 9, 1940 in Belton, Texas, Jan received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, Speech, and English in 1963 from Mary Hardin-Baylor College. In 1980, she completed her Master of Arts in Theatre at Stephen F. Austin University. Greater Northeast Texas has been theatrically fed through her teaching and directing. Jan, or “Jones” as her students affectionately called her, began her teaching career in College Station at A&M Consolidated High School. She then moved to Tyler and taught at Robert E. Lee High School for 33 years, where she established an outstanding, award-winning theater program, recognized across the state of Texas. She also served on the Tyler Junior College-adjunct Faculty, before retiring. Retirement was a way for Jan to share her talents and expertise with others in our community. Therefore, after “retirement”, she taught at All Saints Episcopal School, UT Tyler, and Trinity Valley Community College in Athens. Since last year, Jan has been teaching at East Texas Christian Academy. Throughout the years, she not only directed and taught for the Student Players of Tyler, Brickstreet Theater Children’s program, S.T.A.R. and The Acting Conservatory at Tyler Civic Theater, but also her involvement extended to the Stephen F. Austin Summer Rep Company. She recently directed the popular Always…Patsy Cline production at TCT. As a lifetime member of the Texas Educational Theatre Association and TETA’s Adjudicator’s Organization, Jan contributed her knowledge to educators and schools across the state and the nation. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including TETA’s Founder’s Award and Emeritus Award, Who’s Who Among American Teachers, Robert E. Lee’s Teacher of the Year, the SFA University 2005 Outstanding Theatre Alumni, and the UIL Southwestern Bell Sponsor Excellence Award. Jan was preceded in death by her parents, Norene Gist Jones and D.W. Jones. She is survived by: her dearest friend and sister of the heart, Judy Gross; her sister and brother-in-law, Jane and Boyce Vardiman, and her nieces, Rebecca Vardiman, Harriet Smith, and Deborah Vardiman, along with her extensive family of special friends. Memorials may be made to the Tyler Civic Theatre’s S.T.A.R. scholarship program for children, 400 Rose Park Drive, Tyler, Texas 75702 or the Humane Society of East Texas, Post Office Box 6151, Tyler, Texas 75711.

Jan Jones

November 9, 1940 - September 6, 2011