Allen Ray Jones

Born, March 18, 1946 to Preston Matthew Jones and Barbara Pippen Jones, Allen Ray Jones passed away Wednesday, September 16, 2015. He grew up in the Glade Community and graduated from Glade High School in 1964. After high school, he worked as a Journeyman Printer at the Laurel Leader Call until he joined the Laurel Fire Department as a firefighter in 1972. In 1985, Allen was recognized by the Insurance Women of Laurel as Fireman of the Year. He retired from the department in 1995 after earning the rank of Senior Captain. As a young adult, Allen donated a great deal of time to the Laurel Jaycees, serving as President from 1978-1979. He received many service awards while a member of that organization, including the Paul Scaturro Jaycee of the Year Award in 1980. In 1983, Allen earned his Mississippi Real Estate License and became a realtor with Charles Bates Realty. He later worked to assimilate and distribute Multiple Listing information to the members of Laurel Board of Realtors. Allen gave his life to the Lord at an early age and was happiest when he was helping others. Always eager to serve, Allen used his time and talents to help with many community projects. In the early 1980s he built playground equipment for St. John’s Day School and in 1985 he took his talents next door, helping to build playground equipment at the original PCS (now known as Laurel Christian School). He also loved working on the firefighters’ annual Christmas Toy Drive. In 2010, Allen and his good buddy David Hayes had a vision for the PDI Reunion and worked diligently to bring the reunion to life. The reunion will be celebrating its 5th anniversary on October 24th of this year. He also worked tirelessly to establish the Glade Reunion Facebook page which has allowed hundreds of Glade graduates to reconnect and share memories for the past few years. Most recently, Allen has used his gifts of service and his love of construction to help build sets for several shows at the Laurel Little Theatre. He is survived by his daughter, Heidi Messer and son-in-law, Chris Messer and three granddaughters, Rebecca, Emilee, and Keeghan Messer, all of Birmingham, AL; his sister, Mary Ellen Scrimpshire and her husband, Tommy Lee Scrimpshire, of Laurel; two nieces and their families, Tracy Reynolds, of Claremore, OK, and Jennifer Smith, of Ellisville, MS; Heidi’s mother, Cheryl Jones; his firefighter “family” and many relatives and friends. Loved by many, Allen will be missed by all! A Memorial Service will be held at Memory Chapel on Saturday, September 26, at 2 p.m. The family will receive friends and family at Memory Chapel one hour before the service. Honorary Pallbearers will be retired members of the Laurel Fire Department, George King, and Wayne Coker. It is requested that, in lieu of flowers, donation be made at Trustmark Bank to the Laurel Firefighters’ Toy Drive. To sign the online guest book, visit www.memorychapellaurel.com.

Allen Ray Jones

March 18, 1946 - September 16, 2015