Murphy Jones of Sissy’s Log Cabin Dies at 81

He served as the retailer’s secretary and treasurer, and loved spending time outdoors and being with his family.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

Murphy Jones; his wife, Sissy; his daughter-in-law, Sharri; and his son, Bill. After a brief stint in Africa as an electrical engineer, Murphy Jones returned to Arkansas to work at the family business, Sissy’s Log Cabin.

Pine Bluff, Ark.--Murphy Jones, secretary and treasurer of Sissy’s Log Cabin, died April 25 at the age of 81.

William Murphy Jones Jr. was born Jan. 11, 1936 to William Murphy Jones Sr. and Dorris Nolley Jones in Hamburg, Arkansas.

He graduated from Hamburg High School in 1954, according to an online obituary, and also was an Eagle Scout, a member of the Order of The Arrow and attended a Junior Conservation Camp to learn about fishing, hunting and living outdoors.

He college education started when he entered into a co-op program with Georgia Tech, in which he would work three months at Crossett Paper Mill in Arkansas and go to school for three months.

Jones married Marguerite “Sissy” Robinson in 1957. They had two children Mary Virginia (Ginger) Jones Cheatham and William (Bill) Murphy Jones III.

In January 1958, shortly after marriage, Murphy and Sissy moved to Atlanta, where he finished his degree at Georgia Tech.

He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and obtained his electrical engineering degree with honors, accepting a job with AP&L, which later became Middle South Services (Entergy), in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

While he was at Entergy, he worked as an electrical engineer for the distribution company ESCOM in Johannesburg, South Africa, for five years.

When he returned to Arkansas, he rejoined the family business, Sissy’s Log Cabin, as its secretary and treasurer, becoming an important part of the company’s advertising and marketing team as the store expanded.

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Jones was past president of the Arkansas Antiques Association, an active member of various jewelry associations and a member of Lakeside United Methodist Church for more than five decades, where he served on the board of trustees.

He also was a previous board member of the Salvation Army, Kiwanis and Rotary Club, a longtime sponsor of Babe Ruth Baseball league at Taylor Field and sponsored the Torii Hunter Baseball Foundation Scholarship at UAPB in Pine Bluff.

He loved nature and the outdoors--including hunting and fishing at the Split River hunting club--and spending time on his back patio watching and feeding birds and tending to his flowers.

Most of all, he cherished his family and loved life and people.

Jones was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.

He is survived by his wife, Sissy; daughter, Mary Virginia Cheatham; and son, William M. Jones, III; brother, Barry Crisman “Cris” Jones; two sisters, Charlotte Virginia McKiever and Angela Nolley Shelton; and his nine grandchildren.

The family asks that anyone who would like to leave a memorial consider donating to Lakeside United Methodist Church at 1500 South Olive, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 71601; the Salvation Army; or the baseball program at Taylor Field, P.O. Box 6654, Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71611.

Condolences can be shared on Jones’s online memorial page.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.