Tracey Lee Jones

Tracey Lee Jones, age 55, of Salisbury, North Carolina, passed away on Friday, May 24.She was the daughter of Rhonda Lee Jones and Jasper Watkins Jones, III. She passed peacefully in her sleep at her home at Magnolia Gardens in Spencer, NC.

In 1963, on September 26, Tracey was born in Asheboro, North Carolina, where her family had moved for her father to take his first job out of college with Union Carbide. Tracey spent her infant and toddler years at the family’s home on old North Carolina Hwy 49. It was an area of pastural beauty with many old Carolina pine trees. Tracey very much enjoyed being outdoors in this environment.

She moved with her family to Salisbury in 1965, when her father took a position as one of the start up engineers for Fiber Industries. She loved going to the Fiber Industries family park where she enjoyed playing on the sandy beach and in the waters of the lake. Tracey initially resided with her family in Salisbury, on Hwy 150, across the street from a beautiful old horse stable, barn, and indoor riding ring, that later became known as Blue Jay Stables. The family decided to take up equestrian life, and Tracey joined in with full enthusiasm. She enjoyed lead riding and won 1^st place in a lead in costumed event, which gave her great joy. The event made the front page of the Salisbury Post newspaper, and that trophy was the grand prize of her early youth.

She moved with her family to the family home in Glen Ray Heights, where Tracey spent the remainder of her elementary years. She enjoyed riding her tricycle, playing in the woods, and in the neighborhood creek, sledding in the winter snow, playing with her sisters, her best friend, Sally, and her endearing imaginary friend named Acorn. Acorn was a family favorite and provided lots of entertainment for many years!

Tracey attended early elementary school at the Whiley school in Salisbury and later elementary and middle school at the old Cleveland Elementary School, in Cleveland, NC.

In the late 1970’s Tracey moved with her mother to Greensboro, where Tracey completed middle school on the campus of the Lucy Coffin Ragsdale high school in Jamestown, NC. Tracey continued at, and completed her education, graduating from McIver High School, in Greensboro, NC, in 1981. While at McIver, she became very active with the high school dance troupe, performing in numerous productions, and at many events. This is where she met her best friend, and fellow dancer, Missy, who she remained in touch with through the remainder of her young adult years. Tracey and Missy were on the cheerleading squad together. They loved to play in the park together, talk on the phone for hours, and most of all, dance!

Tracey was a great lover of the American Dance Festival, held each year at Duke University in North Carolina. She looked forward to attending that cultural event each summer with her sister, Rhonda Ann, and her brother-in-law, Sam McDonald. During the 1980’s, she also enjoyed spending much of her summers with the McDonald’s at their home in Granville Park, in Wiston-Salem, NC.

In addition to dancing, Tracey loved the visual arts. She was a lifelong crayon enthusiast and especially enjoyed coloring. When the adult coloring book craze came along, she was one of the first to jump on board. Yellow was her favorite color, and it showed up often in her art work. She was also fond of collage. In the mid 1980’s, one of her three dimensional collages was juried into an art exhibition that was presented at the Sawtooth Center for the Visual Arts, in Winston-Salem, NC. She placed in this show and was very proud of her participation.

Other favorite activities during the 1990’s included frequent trips to Miami, Florida, with her mother, to visit her older sister Kim, and niece, Danielle, who was working in the cruise and spa industries there. Tracey loved to go and see the large cruise ships coming into the Port of Miami, and visiting Ocean Drive on South Beach. Delicious seafood and spaghetti were her favorite foods.

Another favorite adventure for Tracey was travelling to Texas to visit her aunt, Rebekah Cunningham. She was very close to her aunt and they loved each other very much. Tracey enjoyed spending time with her aunt every chance she could.

In the late 1980’s, Tracey moved with her mother to Winston-Salem, where they relocated for her mother to work with the City of Winston-Salem. There, Tracey loved visiting the gardens at the Reynolda House Museum and strolling through the village of Old Salem. Her grandfather, William Anderson Lee, was a Moravian, and she always appreciated the charm of the Moravian village, especially at Christmas.

She spent her weekdays working at the Enrichment Center in Winston-Salem, where she developed many great friendships with her fellow co-workers. During those years she experimented with living in several group homes in the area. Ultimately, Tracey returned to living with her mother, where they enjoyed many years of gardening to attract both butterflies and birds. Tracey loved feeding and watching the birds.

In 2007, Tracey returned to Salisbury, with her mother, where she remained until moving into assisted living at Magnolia Gardens in Spencer, NC, in 2011.

Her roommate and dearest friend at Magnolia was Betty. They were as close as sisters and did everything together, from sharing meals, participating in Arts and Crafts, attending events, growing old together, and sharing their favorite activity of feeding the birds.

Tracey was a person of great faith. She very much enjoyed singing hymns and attending the services at her home. She always spoke of Heaven as a peaceful place where she would, again someday, see those she loved.

Tracey was full of love and enthusiasm. She beamed with a great big smile, and was always ready with the sweetest words, “I Love You”! So when you think of Tracey, remember those sweet words, “I Love You”!

Tracey leaves her two sisters, Kim Denise Jones; Rhonda Ann Jones McDonald and her husband, Samuel Howard McDonald; her niece Rebekah Ann McDonald Bolick, and her husband Joshua Dennis Bolick, her nephew Samuel Edward Lee McDonald; her niece Danielle Alexis Folss; her aunt, Rebekah Ann Jones Cunningham; and her late father’s wife, Katherine Glasgow Jones; and many cousins and friends. She is preceded in death by her late mother, Rhonda Carolyn Lee Jones; her father, Jasper Watkins Jones, III; her grandmother Parrielee Adkins Lee; her grandfather, William Anderson Lee; her grandmother, Annie Mell Woodard Jones; and her grandfather, Jasper Watkins Jones, Jr.

Tracey’s ashes will be spread with the Lee Family at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greensboro, North Carolina, and at South Beach in Miami, Florida.

Lyerly Funeral Home is serving the Jones family. Online condolences may be made at www.lyerlyfuneralhome.com.

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