Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Edgar Jones and wife Rebecca, three organizations in Caldwell County have more funding available to assist the community they serve.

The Caldwell Memorial Hospital Foundation, Caldwell Hospice Foundation and the Foundation of First Presbyterian Church of Lenoir all received more than $53,000 bequeathed to them by Edgar Jones, who died in June 2009 at the age of 93, and Rebecca.

The Joneses, who were members of First Presbyterian Church, lived at 225 Rectory Hill SW in Lenoir for more than 60 years.

Edgar served as a vice president at Bernhardt Furniture Company after World War II and later became vice president of Consolidated Furniture Industries (formerly Blowing Rock Furniture Industries) until his retirement. He also was a member of the Lenoir Planning Board for 14 years.

“I think what he did was just wonderful,” said Ann Chambers, sister-in-law of Jones and executor of his estate. “I was very pleased to find that he had done this; I didn’t know about it.”

During the course of his life, Edgar made several charitable contributions to benefit organizations affiliated with his family in some way.

“He was a very private person,” Chambers said of her brother-in-law. “It’s lovely to find out he did these nice things.”

Edgar married Rebecca in 1940 after they met while attending Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a paymaster for a ship in the Pacific Ocean while Rebecca waited for him to return home in San Francisco. When he returned to the United States, they moved to Lenoir where Edgar worked for Bernhardt Furniture.

Rebecca also was active in the local Service League before passing away in July 1994.

Their love for and interest in Lenoir led to their decision to leave the financial contributions to the three organizations they did.

Scott Brown, executive director of the CMH Foundation, said the funds from the Jones’ estate set aside for his organization already are in an account and will be used in areas of greatest need.

“We try to cultivate the idea that someone would leave us a planned gift, but we were not aware that anything had been left to the Foundation,” Brown said. “We really appreciate his generosity. The fact that he chose a few organizations here in this community is wonderful. We don’t get those kinds of gifts everyday. It’s a wonderful and thoughtful gift he made that will benefit other people in this community.”

Brown said the Foundation even is considering naming its endoscopy suite, currently being retrofitted, after Jones.

Cathy Simmons, executive director for Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., said the funding received by Hospice went into its foundation account as well. That foundation was set up in the mid-1990s to provide for the long-term security and special needs of Hospice. Simmons noted that the funding could be used to benefit the capital campaign to assist with funding for the new Hospice unit being built on Pine Mountain Road in Hudson.

“It was a surprise to me,” Simmons said of the financial gift. “We are very grateful. Since we are looking to finish a major building project and expand our services, every gift we get is very much appreciated.”

Pastor Rob Hinman of First Presbyterian Church said the money left by the Joneses went into the church’s foundation, set up to fund unusual kinds of ministries that the church might undertake, unless there was a specific request by the person making the contribution that the funds be used for a certain need.

“We’ve been blessed by being remembered by several of our members, and this is another example of that,” Hinman said.