Couple celebrates 70th wedding anniversary
The family of Elgin Ray (Punk) Jones and Mary Belle (Steddum) Jones proudly announce their 70th wedding anniversary.
Punk and Mary Belle were reared in Shackelford County. They met in 1940 when the Jones family moved to Albany, Texas next door to the Steddum family. At that time, Punk was 13 and Mary Belle was nine.
She promptly told her grandfather that when she grew up, she was going to marry Punk Jones.
Punk is a World War II veteran and took advantage of the GI Bill by graduating from Ranger Junior College with an Associate Degree. Mary Belle attended TSCW, now TCU, in Denton, Texas.
She gave up a college degree to marry Punk, and he gave up rodeos. They were married in 1950 in the Ibex community a few miles from Albany.
For the first couple of years of their marriage, Punk and Mary Belle lived on the Nail Ranch in Shackelford County where Punk was a ranch hand and horse breaker.
They moved to Wink, Texas in 1952 when Punk accepted a job with Sinclair Oil & Gas. In 1953, he bid on a pumping job in Mentone, Texas, which is in Loving County.
When Mary Belle asked where that was, he said that he didn’t know. They quickly found out and have lived in Mentone, Texas, which is in Loving County, for 67 years.
Punk quit working for Sinclair in 1964 to run for Loving County Sheriff/Tax Assessor Collector, a position he held for 28 years.
In 1972, Mary Belle began working at the tax office, later becoming the Chief Appraiser of Loving County. Additionally, in 1966, Mary Belle began working for the Loving County Water Improvement District collecting taxes.
In 2006, Mary Belle and Punk formed the P&M Jones Family Ranch, which they continue to advise.
They were active within the community with their time and generosity, serving as 4-H leaders, hosting the area-wide 4-H Fun Days, and helping organize the annual Trail Drive in the 1970s.
They are dedicated parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. Mary Belle and Punk Jones’s children are Skeet Jones and his wife Barbara, RayMona (Ray) Moore and her husband Stan, Tom Jones and his wife Karen, Richard Jones and his late wife Liz, and Mozelle (Mozy) Carr and her husband John.
They also have 14 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. The entire family honors, adores, and loves them greatly.
The couple has a long history of dedication to God and His plan for them. They are members of the Eastside Church of Christ in Kermit, Texas.
When asked, “What advice might be given for a long enduring marriage?” the response was quickly stated, “Be quick in forgiveness, be non-accusing, be more willing to give to the other, always think the best, and always strive to abide by God’s precious word. It is an unspeakable joy.”
