Arthur Ray Jones passed away at his home in Holdenville on Monday, April 17, 2023, at the age of 88 years.

Ray was the son of Arthur Jackson Jones & Mary Opal (Bailey) Jones.
He was born on June 14, 1934, in Lamar, Oklahoma, the youngest of seven - three boys and four girls. He was brought up in Lamar and attended Moss schools, graduating Moss High School with the Class of 1953. Just out of high school he enlisted in the U.S. Army. His basic training ended on the day that the Korean War ended, and the Army stationed him in Alaska. After military service he worked for a few years at the post office in Tulsa, and then began pipelining, the lifelong occupation that he loved. He married Vickey Smith on December 20, 1979 in Holdenville, and they loved traveling to various states to his numerous jobs in the oil field. They lived for nineteen years in Lamar, then moved in 1998 to Holdenville, their home for the past twenty-five years. Ray was a member of Pipeliner 798 for more than fifty-five years, and retired in February of 1997 as a pipefitter. He enjoyed fishing and hunting with his loving wife, Vickey. They were members of the 4th & Broadway Church of Christ until the doors closed in 2020, and they transferred to the East Main Church of Christ where Ray loved attending when he was able, and loved all his brothers and sisters in Christ. He loved being around family and friends, and especially loved making people laugh.

Ray is joining many other family members who've gone on before him: his mom & dad, Jack & Opal Jones, and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Lee & Alyne Smith; his eldest daughter, Nancy Ann Bucher; two brothers, Leland Jones and Wallace Jones, and three sisters: Delories Barnes, Wanda Lee 'Pat' Watts, and Nancy Thorp; two brothers-in-law, Earl Thorp and Oney Taylor; grandparents.

He is survived by his loving wife of forty-three years, Vickey Jones, of the home; three daughters: Susie Ross and Janea Bray, both of Tulsa, and Mary Anne Harris of Wagoner; sister Merle Dean Taylor of Perkins, sister-in-law Rose Jones of Houston TX, son-in-law Rodney Bucher of Broken Arrow; eight grandchildren, fifteen great grandchildren, and six great great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews, other family members, and many friends.

A memorial service with military honors was held on Saturday, April 22, 2023, 1:00pm at East Main Church of Christ, with Josh Moyer officiating.