OBITUARY: Bobby Howard Jones

Bobby Howard Jones

April 26, 1939 – August 1, 2026

“May I arrive where means of grace cease
and I need no more to fast, pray, weep, watch
where is no grief, sorrow, sin, death
where is personal completeness;
But there I shall be near thee
dwell with my family,
stand in thy presence chamber,
be an heir of thy kingdom, as the spouse of Christ,
as a member of his body, one with him who is with thee,
and exercise all my powers of body and soul in the enjoyment of thee.”

—Heaven Desired, The Valley of Vision

Bobby Jones was steadfast as the rising sun. If you were blessed to know him, you knew he could be counted on for a helping hand, a word of wisdom, a witty remark, and a smile that lit up his eyes. He accomplished a great many things in his eighty-seven years, the greatest of all being his marriage to Patsy for sixty-six years, and the wealth of family and friendship that grew up around the two of them. Through all of it, he walked humbly with the Lord.

He was tall, strong, and steady as an oak tree. He loved to be outside, enjoying God’s creation, tending his garden, or simply sitting on the porch sharing stories. He was a man of commitment – to his wife, who first caught his eye at the roller rink and whom he loved deeply until his last breath; to his children, Tammy, Patti, and Derrick; to his thirteen grandchildren and twenty-four great-grandchildren; to his community and his church home at First Baptist Church of Dickson, where he served for decades as a deacon; and to his country, as a United States Army Staff Sergeant.

As a boy, Bobby spent his summers doing chores around the family farm in Vanleer, Tennessee; the son of Willie Howard Jones and Lillie Mae Pate Jones, and a brother to Herbert, Jewel, Ruby, Billy, Ann, Peggy, and Wanda. This is where he learned the value of hard work. But when the chores were done, Bobby could be found picking a guitar while his sisters sang a hymn, or setting out on a five-mile walk to meet friends for a baseball game. Once, he mounted the family horse and rode from the homestead on Wolf Branch Road to the movie theater in Vanleer, tying the horse up outside while he enjoyed the show… only to come out and find it long gone. (Thankfully, the animal knew its own way home.)

Bobby’s love for baseball started as a boy and never left him. His athletic skill stood out enough among his peers to draw the attention of minor league scouts; he played on fields as near as Vanleer, and as far as Detroit and Vicenza, Italy. He stayed a loyal Braves fan his whole life, and some of his happiest moments in his later years were spent watching a game with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren beside him.

Bobby was a trained military man; a soldier, a survivor, a leader. He served nine years in the U.S. Army, rising to Staff Sergeant with the 82nd Airborne Battle Group of the 504th Infantry at Fort Bragg. He earned the Ranger Arch Tab, the Senior Parachute Badge, and the JumpMaster Tab, along with two Good Conduct Medals and seven letters of commendation and appreciation for his service. His demeanor was calm and steady as a rock through turbulent times, even in moments of real trial or suffering. He strived to take in every moment life offered him, and he held fast to an enduring hope of eternity with Christ.

He had a remarkable mechanical mind, the kind of skill that turned into a second career. After the Army, Bobby continued his service at Fort Campbell as a civil servant, where he managed the base Auto Craft Shop for many years, and in his later working years he taught auto mechanics at Austin Peay University. He was a deep well of practical and life wisdom besides, the kind of man people drove miles to ask for advice. He gave generously of all of it —his time, his resources, his hard-won knowledge— quietly, without any interest in the credit. “This is just between you, me, and the Lord,” he’d say. He lived Matthew 6:3 before anyone ever had to teach it to him: don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.

Bobby Howard Jones died on August 1, 2026, at his home in Dickson, Tennessee, at eighty-seven years old. He was preceded in death by his parents and all but one of his siblings, his sister Wanda Jones. He is survived by his wife, Patsy Ann Sesler Jones; his children, Tammy Lankford (Enoch), Patti Scherer (Steve), and Derrick Jones; his thirteen grandchildren, Sara Longenecker (Michael), Ryan Scherer (Meghan), Emily Burrows (Joe), Jill Haynes (Matthew), Faith Butler (Michael), John Lankford, Mia Jones Alter (Judah), Rachel Ford (Mark), Adam Lankford (Leslie), Laura Bennett (Daniel), Geran Jones, Antonia Gerbic Jones, and Heidi Gerbic Jones; and twenty-four great-grandchildren: Judah, Cedar, and Isaac Longenecker; Lily, Georgia, and Hudson Burrows; Noah, Dawson, and Violet Haynes; Titus, Timothy, and Hannah Ford; Shepherd, Rosemary, and Frances Lankford; Mercy, Jethro, and Jace Bennett; Campbell, Cooper, and Cate Scherer; and Grant, Indi, and John Howard Butler.

We will miss him fiercely – his hands, his stories, his steadiness, his enduring love. But we do not grieve as those without hope. We believe Bobby has arrived at exactly what he prayed for: near his Lord, an heir of the kingdom, needing no more to fast, or pray, or wait.

Visitation: will be on Tuesday, August 04, 2026 from 11:00 AM – until time of service at Spann Funeral Home.

Funeral Service: will begin at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, August 04, 2026 from the Chapel of Spann Funeral Home with Bro. Ryan Scherer and Bro. Enoch Lankford officiating.

Interment: will follow at Dickson County Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Brett Boyer Foundation, in honor of Bobby’s great-grandson, John Howard Butler.

Arrangements entrusted to Spann Funeral Home & Cremation Services, located in Dickson, Tennessee.

For more obituaries visit our obituaries page.

This obituary was published by Spann Funeral Home.

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