Bessie Eunice (Hubbard) Jones May 15, 1921 ~ May 11, 2025 (age 103)

Graveside services for Bess Jones, 103, currently of Midland, TX will be held at 12 noon on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in the Portales Cemetery with Scott P. Reeves officiating.  Public viewing for Mrs. Jones will be until 8 PM Wednesday and from 8 to 11:30 AM Thursday.

Bessie Eunice Jones, known to virtually everyone as Bess or “Nonnie Bess,” was born May 15, 1921 in Nogal, NM to the home of Eunice Effie (Skinner) and Rueben Rhea Hubbard, and passed from this life on the morning of May 11, 2025, just four days before her 104th birthday, in Midland, TX.  She and her parents resettled in Carlsbad, NM, where she spent her childhood, and graduated from High School.

At the age of 16, Bess married Frank Gibbs, and later moved to Fort Worth, where she worked in an airplane factory during World War II.  Bess was a seamstress there, and sewed chair covers for the planes and parachutes.  There was even a picture in the Fort Worth paper showing her doing her part for the War effort.

When she and Mr. Gibbs divorced, she returned to New Mexico and settled in Tucumcari where she began working at a local drug store behind the cosmetic counter.  She became acquainted with Frank Kelt, whose family owned Gambles stores in various locations.  In 1947, they came to Portales to run the store here, selling a wide variety of items, including large appliances.  Mr. Kelt had the franchise for Maytag, and they sold a lot of Maytag appliances.

Bess was an accomplished artist, and through the years, she had painted countless oil paintings.  Her favorite subjects were old churches, outhouses and barns.  Her paintings grace the walls of numerous homes, churches and even some businesses.

Upon moving to Portales, they joined the First Baptist Church, where Bess was still a member at the time of her death.  During the years that she was able to be active in the congregation, she served as a Sunday School teacher in the Children’s Department.  Being an accomplished artist, she drew pastels in her student’s Bibles when they had successfully memorized verses.  Bess also served as the church photographer for many years, and produced numerous scrap books for the church library.  Each year at Easter, she played the part of Mary the mother of Jesus in the pageant which was widely attended by the community.  Each month up to the time of her death, Bess faithfully sent her tithe to the church.  At the time of her death, Bess held the distinction of not only being the oldest member of the congregation, but also the one with the longest number of years of membership.

In 1961, her husband was tragically killed in small plane crash.  Being a single mother of two, Bess moved to Tucumcari for a brief time, but soon returned to Portales and enrolled in Eastern New Mexico University where she earned a Secretarial degree and became the Executive Secretary to Dr. Gene Harrell, Vice President of Finance.

On June 1, 1963, she was married to Ranell Jones.  She came with a son and daughter, and Frank had two daughters.  They managed to blend their families and enjoyed 41 years of marriage before his death in 2005.

Bess was always interested in history, and had joined the United Daughters of the Confederacy.  In the late 1950’s, at the urging of her good friend Dona Stone, she became a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Still later, after she was retired from the university, Bess became a member of the Pink Ladies Hospital Auxiliary.  But her first love was always her church and her church family.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Keith and Marietta Kelt of Monte Cito, CA; two step daughters and sons-in-law, Nancy and Chip Boatright of Mundelein, IL and Sandra and Smitty Stephens of Hoschton, GA; six grandchildren, Stellyce Tune, Devin Allen, Michael Allen and Bryan Allen, Landon Keith “Casey” Kelt, Jr. and Whitney Lynn Kelt-Osborn; 16 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great-grandchildren; and a brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Nancy Hubbard of Albuquerque.  Besides her two husbands, Bess was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Don Hubbard, and her daughter, Sandra Allen who died April 11, 2025.

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