Sandra Kay (Phillips) Jones

Sandra Kay (Phillips) Jones, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, July 6, 2023, at the age of 75, in her home in Columbia, Mo. Sandy was born Oct. 26, 1947, in Nevada, Mo. She was the firstborn child of Henry “George” Phillips and Karlene (Buhr) Phillips. She grew up in and around Metz, Mo., and attended elementary schools in both Metz and Hume. Sandy graduated from Metz High School as salutatorian of her class in 1965, where she played basketball and won the Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow Award. Although awarded a Curator’s Scholarship from the University of Missouri System, Sandy opted to enter the workforce at the local Kellwood factory where she met her future husband of 55 years.

On May 26, 1968, she was united in marriage with Gary L. Jones at the First Christian Church of Nevada. Together, Gary and Sandy raised a daughter (Traci) and two sons (Todd and Scott). While her children were young, Sandy was a homemaker who stayed busy keeping the household in order, chaperoning field trips, shuttling kids to and from practice and washing grass stains out of sports uniforms. She was a devoted “sports mom,” as well as a “bonus mom” to countless neighborhood kids, and she single-handedly kept them supplied with Little Debbie snacks. She received her degree as a Licensed Practical Nurse but chose to focus her attention on caring for her children and other family members. Once her kids grew older, Sandy re-entered the workforce as an industrial seamstress at Mill-Tech where she enjoyed working alongside her co-workers and friends.

At her heart, Sandy was a caregiver. As a devoted and loving daughter, she put her nursing training to work by looking after both her mother-in-law (Irene Jones) and her mother (Karlene Phillips) in their later years. She enjoyed reading the daily news, watching movies, listening to classic country music, and cheering for her Missouri Tigers and Kansas City Chiefs. She loved the holidays, especially decorations, American flags, novelty T-shirts, pins, stickers, and anything with a smiley face on it. She loved her siblings and regretted the distance that had come between them. Above all, her proudest achievements were being a mother and a grandmother. She was so proud of, and devoted to, her children and grandchildren. Sandy was loved and she is missed.

Sandy is survived by her husband, Gary. Other survivors include their three children and five grandchildren, Traci, Katherine and Margaret Ogden, of Columbia, Mo., Todd (Nicole), Nicolas, and Ericson Jones of Raleigh, N.C., and Scott and Oliver Jones, of Vail, Colo.; siblings, Bill Phillips (Joi), Sue Kennedy, and Georgia Charles (Joe); and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Harold and Irene Jones; brother-in-law, Larry McCoy; son-in-law, Martin Ogden; nephews, Luke Phillips and Clay Charles; and great-niece, Kaycee Hawks.

A memorial service will be held at Ferry Funeral Home on Friday, Aug. 4, at 1 p.m., with Bob Beaver officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Metz United Methodist Church in care of Ferry Funeral Home.

View obituary and send condolences online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com.