Charles Hurshell Jones, 88, of Ellisville, Mississippi, passed away on July 6, 2025, at the Asbury Hospice House in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was born February 22, 1937, in Laurel, Mississippi.

Visitation will be held on Friday, July 11, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and before the funeral service on Saturday, July 12, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at Pine Grove Baptist Church, 792-Hwy 590, Ellisville, Mississippi; with funeral services beginning at 11:00. Burial will follow in Gandy Cemetery in Ellisville. Officiant will be Rev. Greg Gavin. Ellisville Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements (601-477-3797).

Charles grew up in Laurel, Mississippi where he graduated from George S. Gardiner High School in 1954. There, he excelled at playing trumpet in the band and pitching on the baseball team. Having skipped grades from being promoted in elementary school, he graduated from high school at the young age of 16. After graduating, his father said he had to learn a trade and get a job, so he worked as a brick layer's apprentice for two years before becoming a licensed brick mason. In addition, he attended Jones County Junior College where he continued his participation in the band and on the baseball team. He was quite successful as a pitcher there.  A Laurel Leader-Call article describes how he once struck out 16 batters in a single game. After junior college, he played professional baseball on minor league teams in Florida and Texas before getting married and deciding to return to Mississippi to start a family with his bride, Hazel Hill Jones.

Back in Ellisville, he began teaching a large adult Sunday School class at Pine Grove Baptist Church, and it was there that he received the call to preach and was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister. The family moved to Morton, Mississippi so that Charles could attend Clarke College, a two-year Baptist College, to pursue Biblical studies. While there, he pastored his first church, New Zion Baptist Church, in Newton.

After graduating from Clarke College, he attended William Carey College in Hattiesburg, while pastoring Pecan Grove Baptist Church in Ellisville. After graduation, he became pastor at Hardy Baptist Church in Grenada, Mississippi. Later, he pastored the First Baptist Church of Nicholson, another term at Hardy Baptist, Star Baptist Church in Star, and Harmony Baptist Church in Laurel. While at Harmony Baptist, he was appointed as the Associate Director of Missions for the Jones County Baptist Association where he focused on jail and prison ministries. As a result of this experience, the Southern Baptist Convention Board appointed Charles and his wife, Hazel, as home missionaries to do prison ministries in the Mississippi Delta at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. In addition, he served as the Director of Missions for the Sunflower County Baptist Association. While in the Delta, he also served as pastor of Linn Baptist Church. Eventually, the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board appointed him Director of Prison Ministries for the entire state. As he neared retirement, he returned to Ellisville where he served as interim and/or supply pastor at numerous churches in the Jones County area including a term at the First Baptist Church of Sharon.

In all of these endeavors, he was a true servant who strongly valued the relationships that he formed. He was a great listener who had a heart full of compassion and understanding Charles was devoted to his children and grandchildren and spent as much time as possible with them. He enjoyed playing catch and teaching baseball skills, helping them with the animals for their 4-H and FFA projects, and working in the garden. He traveled hundreds of miles to attend their many sporting, music, and school events. Before he passed away, he said that he loved every minute of it, and he would do it all again.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Hazel Hill Jones; his parents, Harmon Eugene Jones and Myra Lucille Jones; a sister, Helen Young; a brother, Pascal Gene Jones; a daughter-in-law, Julie Jones; and a granddaughter, Heather Weber. Survivors include his children, Charles H. Jones, Jr. (Angela) of Madison, Mississippi; Timothy Jones of Sweetwater, Tennessee; Pamela Jones (Luigi Zaninelli) of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Stan Jones (Nina) of Henderson, Nevada; Gene Jones (Debra) of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; grandchildren, Alex Morgan (Calvin), Gabe Jones, Olivia Jones, Josh Weber (Christy), Gian Luigi Zaninelli, Tyler Jones, Thomas Jones, Emma Jones, and Jack Jones; six great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.

Pallbearers will be family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/