Joy Jones

Mrs. Joy Carol (Samuels) Jones passed away peacefully at her home on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 in Water Valley, Mississippi. Joy loved the hot summer days, time spent with her family by the pool and at the beach, and always doing things her own way, so it is fitting that she decided to take her leave of this earth as the days began to shorten and cool.

Joy was born in Oxford, Mississippi on September 26, 1956 to Jane Carol (Mauldin) Samuels and Billy E. Samuels. She grew up in Coffeeville and Water Valley. Joy graduated from Water Valley High School in 1974, where she first met her greatest admirer and loving husband of 33 years, Billy Jones. She was a member of the Campground Baptist Church.

Joy was many things to those who loved her most. She was a fiercely loyal and protective mother to her two children, Heather Horan Miller of Decatur, Georgia, and Heath Horan of Water Valley. She was a devoted and invested grandmother to Jackson Horan, who was so incredibly blessed to have his “JJ”, his biggest fan, live just a short walk from his home. Joy was a world-class secret-keeper and listener who loved nothing more than staying up late into the evenings and talking about life, decorating projects, and her favorite Rod Stewart songs (all of them) until those of lesser stamina headed off for their beds. Joy was the rare mother-in-law for whom her children’s spouses, Garrett Miller and Monique Horan, told no “mother-in-law jokes” about her because she showed them only kindness and love after welcoming them into her family. 

Joy spent her professional career in bookkeeping, a trade that appealed to her meticulous nature and insistence that all things be kept in their proper place. She was selfless and seemingly spent 11 months out of each year planning the perfect gifts for her loved ones each Christmas. Though she was a petite, southern lady, Joy possessed an impossibly strong will and took quiet pride mocking her illness by repeatedly mowing her lawn on hot, summer afternoons following her chemotherapy treatments. Everyone who knew her recognized that Joy Jones was one of kind—a fact that makes her absence so tough to accept. But we are all so much better off for having known, loved, and being loved by this remarkable and beautiful soul.

Joy was preceded into the kingdom of God by both of her parents and Nancy W. Jones, whom she loved like a parent. She is survived by her husband, children, grandson, brother, Bilbo Samuels (Pam), sister, Kay Hardy, niece/ second daughter, Andi Hardy Terry (Brad), as well as many nieces and nephews.

Joy’s family will receive visitors at the Seven Oaks Funeral Home in Water Valley from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 6 and from 10:00-11:00 on the morning of September 7, with a memorial service in the adjoining chapel beginning thereafter. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her honor to either the Camp Ground Baptist Church, 534 County Road 110, Water Valley, MS 38965 or St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Click the link below to view the funeral service. (stream will begin approximately 10 minutes before the service)

Service Live Stream