Mary Crabtree Jones
September 24, 1933 - February 26, 2025
Mary Jones loved a good book, almost as much as she loved her family and friends. In her last few years, she would request a book to be tucked in her purse before an impending hospital stay. This penchant for reading began early in her life and continued without pause. “I was reading a book of Emily Dickenson poetry while I was in labor with you,” she once confessed to her daughter Martha.
Mary passed away peacefully on February 26th, 2025, surrounded by her family, caregivers, and with her collection of books and family photo albums stacked neatly on the shelves nearby. She was 91.
Mary was born on September 24th , 1933 in Fort Scott, Kansas to Edwin H. Crabtree Jr and Thelma Stukey Crabtree. She was raised along with her older sister Edith and younger brother Edwin III in the towns of Ruby and Tucson, Arizona, with high school years in Miami, Oklahoma. Mary’s father was a mining engineer, so his work brought the family to various mining sites and communities.
An excellent student, Mary graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Oklahoma in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She became certified in education and taught kindergarten through third grade for more than 25 years, mostly in the Boulder Valley School District. She was a beloved teacher, known for her kindness, patience and creativity. Mary’s students wrote volumes of love notes to her. There was one from Monty, thanking her for being “the best teacher in the world.”
In 1955, Mary married Philip Carlton Jones, a fellow graduate of Oklahoma University and a budding architect. Their son Barney was born in 1957, and daughter Martha came in 1960. They built a life around beauty, nature, spirituality and simplicity. They once lived in a geodesic dome in the Colorado mountains, and later spent 43 years in a Brutalist modern home in Boulder County that Philip designed and built in 1976. Philip preceded Mary in death in 2019.
After Mary and Phil’s son Barney was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 18, Mary became an advocate for mental health care, marching with the local chapter of NAMI, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She coordinated Barney’s care and housing for decades before passing the torch to her daughter Martha.
Mary’s life was a story of perseverance, acceptance, and gratitude. Most of all, it was a demonstration of her kindness.
Mary is survived by her sister Edith Dougherty and brother Edwin Crabtree III (Jan Durant); her son David Barney Jones and daughter Martha Peck (Michael) and grandson Christopher Peck; nieces and nephews include Mark Crabtree (Mary), Susan Seymour, Jim Dougherty (Katee), Doug Dougherty (Sara), Paul Dougherty (Kelly), Sarah Crawford-Heiland, and John Dougherty (Janet).
A celebration of Mary’s life will be held this spring.