Kathy Jones

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Kathy Rhea Stobaugh Jones, 63, of Bloomfield (rural Aquilla, Missouri), passed away peacefully on a beautiful Sunday morning, Aug. 28, 2016, in Cape Girardeau at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Lora and Joe Galati, surrounded by close loved ones.

She was born July 11, 1953, in Dexter, Missouri, to William Avery and Martha Elizabeth Ethridge Stobaugh. She grew up in Charter Oak, Missouri, the baby of the family, and was taught to help work on the family farm and in their garden.

She and Larry B. Jones, high-school sweethearts, were married March 25, 1972, in Dexter, Missouri, at the home of her sister and brother-in-law, Glenda and Gerald Barber. With the exception of the years Kathy was enrolled in college at Southeast Missouri State University, the couple made their home in the Bloomfield area. They raised their three children and helped foster other children at times on their farm in Aquilla.

Survivors include two children and five grandchildren: her daughter and son-in-law, Lora Elizabeth and Giuseppe "Joe" Galati of Cape Girardeau, and their children, Salvatore "Sam" Isaiah Galati, Vita Claire Galati and Anna Kate Galati; her son, Larry Kyle Jones of Bloomfield, and his son, Larry Mason Jones, and Mason's mother, Che' Holford Jones; her grandson, Keaton Avery Leija, and Keaton's father, Brian Lee Leija. She also is survived by two sisters and three brothers-in-law, Glenda Ruth and Gerald Barber of Dexter, Margaret Ann and Walton Weaver of Beaumont, Texas, and Bill Baldwin Sr. of Charter Oak; two half-sisters, Lela Jeannine McCoy of Lubbock, Texas, and Jan Rene Powell and her husband, Allen Powell, of Dexter; a sister-in-law, Wanda Sue Bellers of Lenexa, Kansas; and two brothers-in-law, John Paul Jones of Warthen, Georgia, and Ronnie Lee Jones of Rector, Arkansas; two aunts and uncles, Wanda and Luther Bryant of Birdtown, Arkansas, and Peggy and Charles Holifield of Columbus, Mississippi; 21 nieces and nephews; and a host of great-nieces, great-nephews, other relatives, and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband on March 14, 2011, after nearly 39 years of marriage; their cherished daughter, Sara LeAnn Jones Leija on Nov. 1, 2012; a miscarried baby in the fall of 1985; her mother on July 26, 2012, at the age of 93; her father on Aug. 11, 2013, at the age of 94; her mother-in-law, Wanda Lee Williams on Oct. 30, 2011; her sister, Rebecca Sue Baldwin on April 28, 2013; her sister-in-law, Mary Jones on March 10, 2011; an infant brother, William Charles on Dec. 31, 1957; her fathers-in-law, John Ivy Jones on Jan. 19, 1997, Richard Lee on Dec. 26, 1987, and James "Jim" Leo Williams on Aug. 15, 2002; as well as numerous other beloved family members and friends.

Kathy graduated from Richland High School in Essex, Missouri, in 1971, began college that summer, and graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in the summer of 1974.

She was a teacher for 31 years. She taught Special Education at Bernie Elementary in Bernie, Missouri, from 1974 to 1977. She then worked with third- and fourth-grade students within the same classroom at Bernie Elementary for the 1977-1978 school year. She worked at Bloomfield Elementary in Bloomfield from 1978 through 1998 (minus a little time off when she had her children), where she taught students in kindergarten, first and second grades, as well as Special Education.

In September 1998, tragedy hit, and Kathy had to resign her position from Bloomfield Public Schools following a diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer. She was able to go back to Bloomfield Elementary in January 2000 as a resource teacher, working again in Special Education. She continued in this position until retiring from public education in 2003 with 26 years of service. Kathy stayed home for one year and decided full-time retirement was not for her at that time. She began substituting at the area State Schools, working with severely disabled children. She later was approached about a full-time teaching position and taught for five years at Parkview State School in Cape Girardeau. She officially resigned Aug. 31, 2011, following a recurrence in March 2011 of her breast cancer, this time in her bones and liver.

Kathy truly loved God, her family, her students and her community, and it is very apparent they all loved her as well. She was an inspiration to all who knew and loved her. She exhibited much strength and grace and loved others unconditionally. She carried a trademark smile with her always, even in the face of much adversity. She is such an example of beautiful Christian love, and she inspires us all to be better people. Her grandchildren were her pride and joy. Her favorite color was red. She loved peanut butter, chicken and dumplings, coconut pie, chocolate gravy, white beans and cornbread, and Leon's Dexter Queen. She shared her love and words through poems.

She was a member of the Missouri State Teachers Association, the Council of Exceptional Children and the Missouri Retired Teachers Association, and was always active in the local Parent Teacher Organization. In May 2010, Kathy was presented with one of KFVS12's Heartland's Best Teacher awards for the 2009-2010 school year -- The Heartland's Best -- they had no idea!

She was a member of Dexter Church of Christ in Dexter. She loved her church family and deeply appreciated them for all of their prayers, love and caring support.

As a breast-cancer survivor, Kathy became active in participating in and helping at the local Relay for Life for a few years until her health prevented her from volunteering as much. In March 2011, when Kathy lost her husband, Larry, to lung cancer, Kathy and her family established the Larry B. Jones HOPE Campaign (Celebrating Healing, Optimism, Prayer and Example). The HOPE Campaign has raised nearly $68,000 in the past five and one-half years to benefit area cancer warriors. The HOPE Campaign officially teamed up with 18 FORE Life in the spring of 2013 and is honored to be a part of giving back to the local community in such a huge and powerful way.

Memorials may be made to the Larry and Kathy Jones Family HOPE Campaign, established in March 2011 and renamed in August 2016, P.O. Box 1785, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. The family desires to honor Larry and Kathy's legacy of helping and loving others by continuing their mission of blessing area cancer warriors and individuals faced with life-threatening illness.

Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

A funeral service will be conducted at 10 a.m. Thursday in the funeral chapel, with Clyde Jacques, a member of Dexter Church of Christ, and Walton Weaver, minister of the Major Drive Church of Christ in Beaumont, officiating.

Interment will be in Bloomfield Cemetery. Pallbearers will include her son, Larry Kyle Jones; her son-in-law, Joe Galati; grandsons Keaton Leija and Sam Galati; and nephews Billy Baldwin, Chris Baldwin, Wesley Carr, Michael Wilburn, Michael Weaver and Bret Yount.