Life Member 172 Odie Jones JR

SMSGT Odie Jones Jr. of Tampa passed away, Friday, October 11, 2019. Funeral services will be conducted Saturday, October 19 at 11:00 a.m. at New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 2511 E. Columbus Drive, Reverend Larry L. Roundtree, II, Pastor officiating. Interment will be held Monday, October 21 at 11:00 a.m. at Florida National Cemetery, 6502 SW 102nd Avenue, Bushnell, Florida.

Mr. Odie Jones, Jr. was born in Aliceville, Alabama to the late Josephine Jackson and Oddie Jones, Sr. He had one sister, Mattie B. Jones who passed in 2014. He is a graduate of Summerville High School, Aliceville, Alabama where he also earned the honor of Class Salutatorian.

Shortly after graduation, he joined the United States Air Force where he had a fulfilling career traveling the globe. Odie retired from the U.S. Air Force June 1, 1984 as a Senior Master Sergeant after serving for 28 1/2 years. He had numerous military assignments both in the U.S. and overseas; including a year in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He received 21 prestigious awards and medals during his career. He is listed in the 2012 Air Force Memorial Registry and received the 2012 Airman's Society Certificate of Recognition. Additionally, Mr. Jones briefly attended the University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida.

While stationed at MacDill AFB, Odie joined the Bay Area Brotherhood, a nonprofit veteran's civic organization. As a charter member, Mr. Jones served several terms as Treasurer, Secretary, Historian, Vice President, and President. He received six Member of the Year Awards, two Longevity Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 from the Bay Area Brotherhood.

A man of a thousand talents and an accomplished mechanic, Odie excelled in automobile and small engine repair. A skilled carpenter and electrician, he updated and maintained a small but loving home in South Tampa, where he and his loving wife Dorothy raised their 5 children and thrived in a loving and supporting environment.

Odie achieved his goal of becoming an author in 2017 when he published his first book; “Saving the Lake at Bobby Hicks Park”. He went on to publish four additional books. At the time of his passing, he was completing the manuscript for yet another publication entitled “Cancer, Caught off Guard."

Odie was a life-time member of the Joint Communications Support Element Veterans Association and served as Vice President of the Gandy/Sun Bay South Civic Association, Tampa, FL.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy R. Jones; five children, Sheila A. Jones (Tampa, FL), Jeffery G. Jones (Tampa, FL), Ray D. Jones (Tampa, FL), Tracy (Isabelle) Jones (Columbia, SC) and Deidre R. Jones (Riverview, FL); four grandchildren, Zenobia Moreland (Chicago, Il), Brittany Bazemore (Tampa), Estavio C. Jones (Columbia, SC) and Esais C. Jones (Columbia, SC); two great grandchildren, Ke’Auhje and Ke'Ayla Moreland (Chicago, IL); and a host of relatives and friends.