Laura Walker Jones Stamp passed away on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025 in Raleigh, N.C., with her family by her side.
Laura was born in Athens, Tenn. on Oct. 3, 1934, the daughter of Tola Willoughby Sherman and Paul Jerome Walker.
She attended Ward-Belmont School in Nashville, Tenn. and graduated from Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn. in 1952. She attended Hollins College and the College William and Mary, where she studied music and voice.
Her home was always filled with music and books, her other great love. She enjoyed performing publicly, singing in the church choir, and playing the piano.
Laura had a flair for color and design, a passion she continued to develop working at The Stedman House. She was a gracious hostess and loved throwing parties. One of the things she’ll be remembered for is her cooking. Her children remember Sunday as homemade fudge day.
In the late 1970s she volunteered with FOCUS Women’s Resource Center, an organization dedicated to empowering women. Laura worked many years at the University of Virginia (UVa) as a college registrar at the School of Arts & Sciences, and later, as the UVa Medical School admissions counselor. She loved working with students and always took time to chat if she encountered them in later years. She met her husband, Lewis Jones Jr., when he was studying law at UVa, living on the UVa Lawn.
Laura is survived by five children, Walker Jones Thornton, Lewis Jones III and wife Kim, Stephen F. Jones, Robert H. Jones and wife Elizabeth, Maria H. Jones and husband Tyler; grandchildren, Whitney Thornton, Garrett Thornton, Sarah Rosa (Arcadio), Lewis Jones IV, Lindsay Edwards (Marshall), Ashley Flaugher (Evans), Charlotte Jones; and her seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her siblings, Paul J. Walker, Janice Walker Miller, and Libby Walker Willson; her husband, Lewis Jones Jr. of Urbanna; and second husband, Warren G. Stamp, MD of Charlottesville.
The family extends heartfelt thanks to Dorothy and Beverly Walker of Kent Store, for the kindness and care they showed her. And in her final years, the support of a special group of caregivers at Brighton Gardens in Raleigh, N.C.
Laura will be laid to rest beside her first husband at Christ Church Parish (Episcopal) in Christchurch. There will be a family service at a later date.
The family requests those wishing to make a memorial donation direct them to The American Lung Association, 55 W Wacker Drive, Suite 1150, Chicago, IL 60601.
