Our Story
A Family Tradition
Ellis D. Jones & Sons, Inc. is a family owned and operated funeral business, founded in 1935 by Ellis D. Jones, Sr. The tradition of respectful family service was continued by Ellis D. Jones, Jr. until 1991. Michael G. Jones, Sr. and his late wife, Nellie Taylor Jones, were the third generation to serve the families of Durham and surrounding areas during their time of bereavement. Their daughter, Nina A. Jones Mason is the fourth generation of Jones Funeral Directors. Now we are happy to announce that their son Michael Jones II has joined the family business.
We are blessed to be celebrating 88 years of service to the families of Durham and surrounding areas. We strive to help our families before, during and after the funeral service. We offer innovative programs such as our prearrangement funeral/cremation planning, or pre-need counseling which offers you a free guide to Planning Ahead; our book, "A Family's Guide to Making Funeral Arrangements" which is provide at the time of need, along with attention to every detail of the funeral or memorial service; and our "Rosebud" Aftercare Program which consist of an annual Candlelight Remembrance Program. This is why our motto is: "Anyone can do the ordinary, it's how we do the extraordinary that is the true measure of our service."
We want to be your "grief experts", that is why we offer grief education workshops for community and civic groups, along with our "Planning Ahead for the Future" seminars. We can provide a list of support groups in the area that can be assistance to you. You can find a list to those organizations and their websites at our Resources Link under Helpful Links. There are also reading materials on grief available in our office. Please feel free to ask for any information and/or resources that you need. Email or call 919-688-1323.
September 30, 1950 - November 17, 2017
Nellie Taylor Jones was a Durham native and graduate of Merrick-Moore High School. She attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina Central University. She received her associate degree in Funeral Direction from Fayetteville Technical Community College. She was licensed by the North Carolina State Board of Mortuary Science to practice funeral directing.
Nellie was a dedicated member of Union Baptist Church serving on the usher board and is a former member of the Stephen Ministry. She was the founder and co-facilitator for the support group, Parents of Murdered Children-Durham Chapter. Active in the community, she worked in many capacities with the District I Partners Against Crime (PAC) organization.
Nellie was married to Michael Jones, Sr. for 46 years. They have three children Nina, Michael and Marcus and are proud grandparents of four boys and one girl.
She was a resource for family members dealing with their grief. She coordinated their aftercare "Rosebud" program which enabled her to stay in contact with families a year after the death of their loved ones.