CLYMER FUNERAL HOME
39 Old Kings Road North
Palm Coast, Florida

A funeral service celebrating the life of Shirley B. Jones, 82, of Palm Coast, FL, who passed away on Sunday, September 22, 2019 will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, 28, 2019 at the First A.M.E. Church with Rev. Glover presiding. (91 Old Kings Rd N, Palm Coast, FL). A visitation will be held before the service from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at the church. Interment will be held at Flagler Palms Memorial Gardens following the service at 12:30 p.m.

Shirley was born on March 29, 1937 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was a member of the First A.M.E. Church in Palm Coast, the Flagler Art League and the African American Cultural Society.

THE DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL
Daytona Beach, Florida
September 22, 2004

Shirley Jones sees Jesus as a Black man.

She quotes the Bible, describing him wooly hair and feet like burnt brass.

But her vision, captured in a painting of haloed Jesus that hangs in The First African Methodist Episcopalian Church of Palm Coast, goes beyond that.

“I think every nationality feels as though Jesus is from their community,” she said.

One look at her “Black Jesus” and his eyes seem to follow you.

“It just came out that way,” she said. The painting was her way of thanking God and the Church for her kidney transplant in 1994.

“I prayed that would be my most inspired, my most magnificent work,” she replied.

Had she not painted it twice, the image would never have made it. She remembers painting over her first “Black Jesus” after facing opposition from some church members, who disagree with portrayal that deviated from convention.

But Jones, 67, was never one to follow the rules.

In 1974, she was among the first African American women to exhibit her work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The painting was a portrait of a young Mexican girl – a face innocent, curious and sweet – done with a palette knife. It hangs in her Palm Coast home along with approximately 200 of her creations that adorn her walls and take up almost every nook and cranny in her living room workspace.

She doesn’t hail the accomplishment for the prestige. She only takes pleasure in knowing that her work 30 years ago made it easier for black artist exhibits later.

“After that, they recognized that black folks and talent.” She said.

Being among the first didn’t come easy.

Jones, raised as a foster child in Boston, discovered her talent in junior high school and studied watercolor a high school scholarship at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This was in the 1950s.

At 18, she went to New York and lived with a Ugandan family for six years. To provide lodging for black college students who weren’t allowed to live in campus dorms, the family hosted art shows, further fostering Jones’ talent and widening her scope of African art.

Education proved invaluable for Jones. From studying advertising at Pratt Institute to art education and eventually earning a master’s degree in education from Adelphi University, Jones followed her passion in several careers – sometimes not by choice.

In the 1960s, she worked as a commercial artist on Madison Avenue in New York. She said she was fired when her boss discovered she was Black. A light-skinned African American, she had “passed” as a white woman.

“They said, ‘You’ll have trouble finding another job,’” she recalled. And she did. She went on 25 interviews before finding the next job.

“That’s life, she remembers thinking of what she calls the “dog-eat-dog world.”

“That’s just the way it is,” she said.

Nothing fazed her. She later taught art classes at Malverne High School in New York, where she received the Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 1987. Nurturing the creativity in children ended up her greatest accomplishment.

“As a teacher, I think everybody got it in them,” she said. “You just got to pull it out.”

Although retired, Jones continues to create images as a student – learning new techniques, experimenting with different subjects, and striving for innovation. She paints in her living room.

On a recent Friday afternoon, she brushed white paint on the edges of thrashing waves. The piece shows a frozen moment in Flagler Beach.

“I’m just learning how to do water,” she said. “It’s hard for me.”

Lately, she said she’s been trying to get away from detail.

“I can’t get away from it,” she said. “It’s hard. I’m trying to loosen up.”

Framed pieces occupy almost every inch of her walls and stacked upon each other are works in progress. From watercolor to oils to sketches, from still life images of her own home décor to portraits of loved ones and jazz musicians, to Florida landscapes of colorful sunsets, from bright colors to pastel to neutral – it’s difficult to characterize her work.

She isn’t afraid of sexuality or nudity, either. Nude figures of men and women adorn her bathroom. In an abstract, cubist work that only uses red, orange, and brown, two bodies seem to meld into one another. The colors are solid, and the lines are simple. The image, like much of her work, is provocative and she doesn’t apologize for it.

Shirley is survived by her loving husband of 58 years, Donald S. Jones of Palm Coast, FL; son, Quentin Jones of Atlanta, GA; daughter, Jennifer Jones of Atlanta, GA; granddaughter, Alexandria Jones; grandson, Quentin Jones.

The family of Mrs. Jones entrusted the arrangements to Clymer Funeral Home & Cremations