Linda Gay (Martin) Jones was born on March 11, 1944, in Columbus, Georgia, to Mary Audress (Weems) and Harvey Martin. She was the 2nd oldest of 5 children born to her parents. She was united in marriage to Leroy Pipkins on September 24, 1960. To this union they were the proud parents of Nelson, Teresa and Les. Linda met Ken Jones when he was stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia. They were married on February 26, 1980
Linda and Ken have lived on many different military bases during Ken's 22-year tenure with the United States Army. She really enjoyed when they were stationed in Baumholder, Germany. They were residents of Germany for 5 years and she worked for AAFES. When they came back to the United States they were stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas and Linda worked for JcPenny in the credit card department. When Ken retired from the military in 1991, they started a fun adventure together and started driving semis together. Linda drove for J.B. Hunt for 5 years and when they retired from team truck driving, they nestled in the quaint, antique town of Walnut, Iowa.
Linda's passion and love for animals was unmatched. Her love of animals began at a very young age. She often would bring home stray animals to love and adore. Cats and dogs were her favorite, but she would bring home snakes, turtles, baby rabbits and raccoons. Linda loved jewelry, specifically rings. She would often wear multiple rings on each finger with a large collection of over 100 rings. She loved having her granddaughters sit with her and play dress up with her jewelry. She enjoyed making jewelry, crafting, and blankets. Linda loved her family deeply and being able to travel back to Georgia to see everyone. She will be laid to rest in her home state of Georgia with her parents in their Mausoleum.
On Tuesday, February 27, 2024, Linda passed away with her family by her side at the Heritage House in Atlantic, Iowa, having attained the age of 79 years, 11 months and 16 days. She was preceded in death by her parents, and brothers Harvey, John and Paul.
Left to cherish her beautiful life here on earth is her husband Ken Jones of Walnut, Iowa; children Nelson Pipkins (Donna) of Pensacola, FL; Teresa Pipkins of Columbus, Georgia; Les (Terese) Pipkins of Albany, Georgia; Kenneth (Eve) Jones Jr. of Omaha, NE; Wendy (Chris) Yarnell of Omaha, Nebraska; 12 Grandchildren Donald (Jessica) Norman of Columbus, Georgia, their children Emma, Kennedy, and Finn; Ashley (Chris) Williams of Atlantic, Iowa, their sons Brennan and Grayson; Amber Pipkins of Columbus, Georgia, her children MacKenzie, Aiden, and Nathan Jr. Rachel Pipkins of Albany Georgia; Austin Pipkins of Pensacola, FL. Brittany Rolfe of Omaha NE, Bailey Rolfe of Omaha NE, Brody Yarnell of Omaha, NE; Felicia Jones, Jessica Jones, Molly Jones, and Jasmine Jones all of Omaha NE. sister DeLois (Frank) Schwier of Chicago, Illinois; best friend and neighbor Barb Eblen, other family, nieces and nephews and many friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to a local animal shelter.