SALISBURY — Miriam Eerkes Jones died Nov. 29, 2022, in Williamsburg, Virginia. She was 89 years old.
Miriam is survived by her husband, W. Melville Jones of Williamsburg. Also by two sons, Gregory Jones (Kathy) and Bradford Jones (Stephanie), both of San Francisco, California. She is also survived by a daughter, Carrie Mueher (Stephen) of suburban Chicago, as well as five grandchildren. Miriam was extremely devoted to her family, and considered the early years raising them her first and best job.
Miriam graduated from Swarthmore College in 1955 with a degree in political science. She met her future husband the first week of her freshman year at a social mixer. The relationship “clicked” and they continued to date throughout their four years of college.
Following graduation, she and Mel Jones were married. He entered the Army and Miriam became an elementary school teacher. First in Baltimore where Mel was in training and subsequently in St. Louis, Missouri, where Mel was stationed. In 1957, Mel left the Army and entered the Harvard School of Business Administration. Miriam taught school in the Newton, Massachusetts system.
In 1959, Miriam moved to Bronxville, New York since her husband had accepted a job in New York City.
Miriam and two other women opened a gift shop in downtown Bronxville. In addition to working in the store a couple of days per week and participation in the buying, Miriam handled the books and all contact with external accountants and lawyers.
In 1972, Miriam and her husband purchased a large, abandoned farmhouse in Salisbury.
The renovation took over a year and the structural modifications and work was supervised by Miriam. Once completed Miriam and the children would spend entire summers in Salisbury.
In 1980, Miriam sold her share of the Bronxville store and she and her husband moved permanently into the Salisbury home. Miriam first worked as office manager for her husband’s new start-up company.
Then she became the secretary/assistant to the president of a large newspaper company that owned over 100 weekly newspapers and 23 dailies. A couple of years later its headquarters moved to Princeton, New Jersey. Miriam was then hired as personal secretary to the chairman of the company who maintained an estate in Salisbury. After several years, Miriam became the secretary/assistant to the managers of a radio station.
In 1995, Miriam and her husband retired and moved to Williamsburg. They built a house in Ford’s Colony where they lived until 2019 when they moved to the Williamsburg Landing. Before moving to the Landing Miriam volunteered at Colonial Williamsburg — two assignments were The Tucker House and as a receptionist at the Goodwin building.
During summers Miriam played tennis, swam and water-skied at a lake near their Salisbury house, and in Williamsburg, she played golf. During winters in Salisbury, she played platform tennis and was frequently seen on cross-country skiing trails.
Always elegant, thoughtful, gracious, kind, and intelligent, Miriam had the ability to sprinkle all of her conversations with both humor and a smile. She will be dearly missed by all the friends and family members who loved her.
A graveside service for Miriam was held Thursday, Dec. 15, at Cedar Grove Cemetery, 809 South Henry Street, Williamsburg, Virginia.
