Uneitha Jones

Uneitha Jones, adored Santa Barbara resident, passed away in her home on February 15, 2022. Her life began on January 16, 1938 as the first of seven children born to Everlee and Melvin Lambert. Establishing herself as a homemaker at an early age, Uneitha completed a plethora of household tasks that ranged from cleaning to occasionally catching their dinner for the night. She made sure that the needs of every cousin and sibling were met before pausing to consider her own. Uneitha attended Bearden High School (formerly Ouachita County High School) where she excelled and met her husband, Louis Jones.

Newly married and hoping to start a family outside of the segregated south, Uneitha and Louis moved to Selma, California in 1953. She reprised her role as a homemaker when taking care of their first two children, Marilyn and David, while her husband made a living for the family by accepting work throughout the Central Valley. She began supporting the family by accepting day work on a part-time basis in 1956. Uneitha and Louis later found their ticket to life by the Pacific Ocean in a local newspaper advertisement; they relocated to Santa Barbara with their two children in 1957.

Falling victim to the discriminatory real estate practices of the mid-20th century, the couple was forced to rent a room from an accommodating woman on the east side of town. They tried their hardest to make a home out of their strained resources and gave birth to another child, Gail. These efforts, however, could not save their son David; he passed away in 1958 after sustaining injuries from a household accident.

Uneitha and Louis eventually had two more children, Michael and Jacqueline, then they purchased their first home on Mesa School Lane in 1963. She briefly worked as a dishwasher at an area restaurant before securing employment at Applied Magnetics Corporation, serving as a factory worker for roughly a decade. Entering the middle of her life and seeking a career change, Uneitha later moved on to housekeeping; in this role, she made friendships that she continued to reference into the final years of her life.

At the same time, Uneitha and Louis purchased their current residence, a larger property in the same neighborhood. Uneitha retired early and went on to engage in her life pleasures: gardening, traveling, spoiling her grandchildren, and watching soap operas. She and Louis took several vacations to Hawaii, favoring Kauai, and even regularly attended their high school reunions in Arkansas. Uneitha prided herself on being a fiscally responsible wife, stern mother, and nurturing grandmother who also had unparalleled fashion sense.

She is survived by her husband of 69 years and retired MTD transit operator, Louis Jones,

daughters Marilyn Jones of Santa Barbara, Gail Brooks (neé Jones) of Little Rock (CA)

Jacqueline Southern (neé Jones) of Lakewood (CA), son Michael Jones of Santa Barbara,

and five grandchildren.