Jenna Jones, 21, of McKinney passed away on Jan. 26, 2025, due to unexpected health issues. Jenna was a senior actuarial science major in the Department of Mathematics with a business minor, and she was looking forward to graduating in May.
Jones was born on Aug. 29, 2003. A Celebration of Life was held in her memory on Thursday, Feb. 6 at Stonebriar Community Church. For those who were unavailable to attend, it was live-streamed. Jenna was laid to rest at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Newville, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Feb. 10.
Dr. John Ehrke, assistant professor and department chair of mathematics, worked with Jenna during her time at ACU as a professor and mentor.
“She was very close with the students in the department,” Ehrke said. “This whole thing has been hard on the professors, but it has been really hard on several of the students. Some of her best friends have already graduated. I had many of them come back and tell us stories about Jenna that showed how people truly cared about her.”
Jenna graduated from Coram Deo Academy in Plano in May of ‘21. Before Jenna transferred to ACU in the spring of her freshman year, she attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania where she was a volleyball player and advanced to the second round of the Division III Championship.
Jenna was involved on campus. She served as a teacher’s assistant for several professors, often being known as the favorite grader. In addition to this, she participated in the Honors College, ACU for Life and University Chorale and was a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council for the Onstead College of Science and Engineering. She earned the Dean’s Honor List every semester.
“She was probably one of the most favorite graders in the department,” Ehrke said. “She had this habit of putting little stickers on the papers that she graded telling students good job or hang in there. She had been a personal grader for a couple of the professors in the department, and students loved her.”
Jenna is remembered fondly by loved ones as a creative, intelligent, calm, level-headed, perceptive and caring person. One of her most loved traditions was the game nights she consistently held every Friday evening.
Shawnakay Dudley, senior engineering major from Hope Mills, North Carolina, knew Jenna from freshman to junior year of university.
“I would see her on a regular basis for Friday Night game night,” Shawnakay said. “When we had special murder mystery events for game night, she would assign people the perfect role. I didn’t message her often, usually saving stories for when we would meet in person.”
Jenna was passionate in her love for Christ. She often made scripture feel more understandable to others. She wanted others to know that Scripture breathes new life, and she was willing to pose new questions, perspectives and an open-heartedness to sometimes challenging passages.
Anna Voth, second year grad student in the Graduate School of Theology, Master’s of Christian Ministry program from Rowlett, Texas, attended First Baptist Church in Abilene with Jenna for a period of time.
“She brought a kind of accessibility to scripture I’ve always sought to mimic in ministry,” Voth said. “I wonder if we can live our lives in such a God-honoring way that Jenna could say again, ‘Hey, you did your best’, trusting in the Lord with feelings you couldn’t hold, listening well to those around you and loving others deeply in a way similar to how Jenna did.”
She was very talented in her artistry, and she is known for sketching, painting and origami – both simple and complex and her self-taught knitting skills. Jenna was also an avid collector of pressed pennies, Pez dispensers, minerals and yarn. Adventure was important to Jenna in life. She had a strong love for National Parks and the opportunity to travel, even if that travel included spending time with Shawnakay looking for new glasses.
“Last fall Jenna was concerned about my fractured glasses on a Friday night,” Shawnakay said. “The next morning she called me and said something to the effect of ‘I am taking you to get new glasses’, lovingly stubborn and caring as always. She drove me around to multiple locations, patiently waited with me during the whole process and even paid for my glasses and lenses. She had perfect timing because as soon as I took off my glasses at the eye doctor it fully snapped at the nose. She picked out the frame, and it’s something I can remember her by.”
She is survived by her loving parents, Kevin and Kristen Jones. Jenna was the granddaughter of James and Elsie Jones and Beverly Lehman. She also leaves behind aunts and uncles: Steve and Shelley Jones, Mike and Sherry Jones, Anna and Nathaniel Lindley, Carla and Todd Lehman-Yost, Brian and Cara Lehman and Bethany and Jesse Haas as well as multiple cousins.
She is preceded in death by her grandfather, Frederick Lehman.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Jenna Jones can be made to the Jenna Jones Memorial Math Scholarship. You may give online at bit.ly/JennaJonesScholarship. You may also mail your gift to Gift Records, ACU Box 29132, Abilene, TX 79699-9132 and note that it is for the Jenna Jones Memorial Math Scholarship.
