VONNA ULILLA (EDDLEMAN) JONES
Vonna U. Jones was born in Biehle, Missouri on July 9, 1907, and died at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on February 22, 2000. She was the second child and first daughter of Christopher C. and Barbara Ann (Fulbright) Eddleman. Nine more children were to follow, including the youngest, Rodney, who is the father of FFA President Bill Eddleman. Aunt Vonna grew up on the family farm in Biehle, along with her brothers and chief playmates, Riley and Bill. In her late teens, she taught school for a year before marrying Tony W. Jones (Uncle Tone) on August 7, 1925. Uncle Tone passed away on December 7, 1969. Uncle Tone and Aunt Vonna lived beside my grandparents in Delta, Mo., and then moved nearby when the family moved to Cape Girardeau in 1931. Later, they moved to the Millersville area, finally moving to the house in Millersville where Aunt Vonna lived until just before her death. Interestingly, the house was built and owned by Grover Fulbright, a distant cousin, before Uncle Tone and Aunt Vonna bought it. She lived alone in this house after Uncle Tone died, but her son Rack and family lived next door, and other family bought her groceries. She lived in this house until a little over a week before her passing. Aunt Vonna was a member of the Millersville United Methodist Church and its United Methodist Women organization. Four sons survive her: Eugene of Jackson, Mo.; Freeman of Farmington, Mo.; Alan (Rack) of Millersville, Mo.; and Ronnie of Poplar Bluff, Mo. She also had 14 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Aunt Vonna was a never-ending source of stories about our family and various relatives. She was not one to inflate the stories the way my Uncle Riley often did. I would mention one of the stories from his books, and she would usually respond by starting with, "Well, that's not the way I remember it...". Aunt Vonna enjoyed reading family history information, but was a stickler for details. After I presented her with a copy of my Jacob Fulbright Jr. book last year for her 92nd birthday, she just had to tell my dad about 3 or 4 errors she found in it. I remarked to my dad at the time, "Well, if she found only 3 or 4, it must be pretty accurate!" She was not able to walk well for the last several years and her hearing was getting bad, but her mind remained active and she was an avid reader. She loved to get visits from kinfolks, and always kept up her end of the conversation. We were always amazed that she could tell us birth, wedding, and death dates of all her immediate family and cousins. We will all miss her greatly.