- Date Of Birth: December 2, 1937
- Date Of Death: January 13, 2018
- State: Arkansas
Vance Murphey Jones, Jr., 80, of Heber Springs, Arkansas, passed away Saturday, January 13, 2018. He was born in Texarkana, Texas on December 2, 1937. He was preceded by his parents, Vance Murphey Jones, Sr. and Bonnie Katherine Vann Jones, and his brother, George Awtrey Jones of Texarkana, Texas.
Vance is survived by his wife, Joyce Rae Timmons, formerly of Houston, Texas; daughter, Sunita Kumari Jones of Alameda, California; and a son, Vance Murphey Jones, III of Heber Springs, Arkansas. Other survivors include his sisters: Sandra Gail (John Robert) Rea of Wake Village, Texas and Bonnie Kaye (Dennis) Coats of Atlanta, Texas; brother-in-law, Charles Boyd (Marinelle) Timmons of Dickinson, Texas; special friends Harpo and Fiona at the home; and many nieces and nephews.
Vance had a profound common sense combined with a strong analytical mind, a deep commitment to racial equality, a clean environment, and an abiding sense of fairness.
Vance attended public schools in Texarkana, Texas and Lon Morris Junior College. He received a bachelor’s degree in English from University of Texas at Arlington. After college, he and his family returned to Texarkana, Arkansas, where he played a leadership role in the Model Cities Program before moving to Little Rock to join the Bumpers administration.
