MCMINVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Tony Jones struggled for years with his faith until his daughter Abygayle Jones accepted Jesus at a youth camp in the summer of 2023.
“And she wanted to proclaim God and be in love with God,” Tony told Baptist Press. “That’s the way I look at it. She was in love with God and she made me be a better person. She brought my faith back, (she) and Gaby (her younger sister).”
Tony, a Catholic, had planned to get Abygayle baptized as a baby, but never did.
“A little over two years ago, God kept tugging at me and I never knew what He wanted,” he said, “and He was tugging at me for a long time, over two years.”
Both Abygayle and Gabryelle “Gaby” Jones, born a year and six days apart, accepted Jesus as teenagers and were baptized in 2023 at Gath Baptist Church in McMinnville by then pastor Rick Stewart.
“After Abygayle and Gaby both got baptized, I was still just breaking down,” Tony said. “I would just break down crying and never knew what God wanted from me, and I kept asking what He wanted from me.”
Four months ago, Tony found peace when he himself was baptized by immersion at the nondenominational Freedom Life Church in McMinnville.
“Words can’t tell you how she did inspire me, so I got baptized,” Tony said. “And after I got baptized, God stopped tugging at me, because I knew what He wanted.”
Had he not accepted Jesus, Tony believes he would be mad at God today.
On Oct. 30, Abygayle pulled onto Highway 56 in her Ford Fusion with Gaby as a passenger and was struck by a northbound 18-wheeler pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with lumber, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The truck hit the driver’s side of Abygayle’s car.
Tony, a professional truck driver himself, was in Columbus, Ohio, picking up a load from a shipper to take to Loredo, Texas, when he learned of the accident.
“The day she died, I knew she did not make it. I knew she was gone, and I knew it was her, because the words that came out of my mouth were, ‘Thank you God for taking Abygayle home,’” Tony said. “Thank you for saving Gaby, and I didn’t even know (for a fact) Abygayle was dead yet.
“It was overwhelming. I literally passed out before I said that prayer. Before I knew, I literally passed out. And when I was on the phone with Penny, I already knew. She said Abygayle didn’t make it. I said, ‘I know.’”
Penny Jones, Abygayle’s mother and Tony’s wife, was in McMinnville when the accident occurred. She was on her way to work when she turned around, not having heard from their daughters when she texted Abygayle to see if they’d arrived at their book club meeting.
“My neighbor Sharon called me (and asked), ‘Did you see that wreck?’” Penny hadn’t seen a wreck, but she knew instinctively that it was Abygayle and Gaby.
“They told me Abygayle passed, but Gaby had been life flighted to Chattanooga (about 75 miles away).”
So close was the accident to Gath Baptist Church that the ambulance driver, a church member, drove Gaby there to be life flighted.
Ray Gilder, interim pastor, drove to Chattanooga to see Gaby, who sustained minor injuries and was released the same day. Gilder canceled the church’s Trunk or Treat that evening, but held the chili supper with a prayer meeting for the family and community. Gaby – though bruised and sore – attended the fellowship along with Tony and Penny.
“It was a really nice time of just letting the youth, especially, love on the family and share with one another,” Gilder told Baptist Press. The Lord blessed.”
Gilder became interim pastor in February and hadn’t known the sisters for a long time, but told Baptist Press he was impressed with Abygayle’s testimony.
“She came home (from summer camp) on fire for the Lord. She really was excited about living for the Lord, listening to her gospel music,” Gilder said. “She would not miss church. She was going to be in church. She loved her youth group.”
Abygayle’s faith impressed those she encountered, especially the youth group, Gilder said. By Saturday, church and community donations were sufficient to pay for Abygayle’s funeral scheduled for Nov. 10 at Gath Baptist, and both Gath and Freedom Life collected love offerings for the Jones family the following Sunday.
“I was impressed that the funeral was paid for so speedily,” Gilder said.
In a short while, Abygayle had impacted more people with her faith than her family realized. Abygayle and Gaby attended church every Sunday and Wednesday, their parents said.
“She was like a little butterfly,” Penny said, “and she was everywhere with the faith. Every time I turned around, they were tagging me and my husband and my daughter (on Facebook), talking about Abygayle, about how much she’s loved and missed, and just her little personality, and how she used to make people laugh.”
While Tony has been baptized by immersion and is a member of a nondenominational church, along with Penny, he still considers himself Catholic.
Born prematurely at St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago in 1967 and weighing 3 pounds, 1 ounce, he believes he’s only alive today because a nun prayed for him through the night, he was told. He said he was named after St. Anthony, the hospital’s namesake.
Abygayle wanted to be an angel for Halloween and had chosen a costume that arrived a few days before the accident. Penny will display the wings and halo near the casket during visitation at High Funeral Home in McMinnville and hang them with Abygayle’s photograph at home afterwards.
Two months ago, she told her friends she wanted the song “So Will I,” played at her funeral, and had recently been upset, Tony said, because she thought she wouldn’t get to attend summer camp in 2025.
“If it wasn’t for Abygayle, I’m telling you, I would be so mad at God, but I can’t be, because Abygayle put me where I’m at,” her father said. “She put me in my state of mind to really love God again. And I would pray to Him every day. I would tell Him thank you for keeping them safe.
“I do love God, and I always will.”
