Lakewood Elementary crossing guard steals the hearts of local families

Last fall, the Friends of Lakewood did something big — the dad’s group gifted a 2026 GMC to  longtime crossing guard Marian Jones after she lost her car in a wreck.

Jones had mentioned the wreck to one person, and the news travelled around the Lakewood Elementary community fast. A little over a month later, the Friends of Lakewood surprised her with the new vehicle in September.

One student was so excited he spilled the beans to Jones about the gift.

“Some little boy, when they were going to present the car, he thought I already got it; he said, ‘Ms. Marian, did you get your car?’ Then I said, ‘Are they going to give me a car?’ He said, ‘Never mind!’” Jones says.

She reflected on the big moment with quiet humility, saying she felt “just happy, overwhelmed. I don’t use the word ‘lucky’ — blessed, joyful, grateful.” She remarked on how Lakewood Elementary parents really care.

Jones has become a cherished person at Lakewood Elementary. She helps students cross the street in the morning and afternoons, and she shows up to her shifts an hour early. The children give her pictures as they cross the street, and her positive reputation among parents gets handed down to new families.

“The new ones that come every year, they say, ‘We heard about you, Ms. Marian,’” she says. “I say, ‘I hope it’s good.’”

One of the things that makes Jones unique is her willingness to dress up while on duty. For example, Jones arrived to her afternoon shift looking like Christmas on one of the last school days at Lakewood Elementary before the winter break.

She wore a red and white knit dress with a striped skirt and textured white faux lapels. The middle of it was designed to look like a belt that included a gold sequined buckle. She completed the look with tall black boots, velvet-looking gloves with white trim and a Santa Claus hat-styled headband that she wore over a fluorescent yellow cap.

“I like to dress up when I have something,” she says.

Though the 65-year-old has been a crossing guard since 2008, Jones started dressing up more when she was moved from the crosswalk at Hillbrook Street and Sondra Drive to the one by the school’s entrance and drop-off/pick-up lanes.

Her efforts are usually in conjunction with Friends of Lakewood dads, who put on seasonal costumes and volunteer to greet students coming into school. Jones remembers doing her job with a lei around her neck once in a warmer month. She doesn’t have a favorite costume; it’s all about making the children happy. Seeing them smile is one of the best parts about her job.

“They give you love back,” she says.

The Oak Cliff native, who now lives in the Park Lane area, started working as a crossing guard at Lakewood Elementary after she got laid off from Taylor Publishing Company, formerly on Mockingbird Lane, during the Great Recession. Back then, crossing guards were managed by the Dallas Police Department. Now, she cashes checks from All City Management Services, a private company. Jones has worked with children before in a daycare, raised three of her own and likes to see them grow and smile. That’s why she was interested in the crossing guard job.

Most of Jones’ crossing guard experience has been at Lakewood Elementary, though she had a couple of temporary stints at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and Solar Preparatory School. On her first day, she didn’t know how to get to Lakewood and had to get directions from a friend, since GPS directions weren’t as accessible as they are today. But once she got to the school, she clicked into the community.

“On my first week at any job, you’re going to be nervous, but I was excited to be here,” Jones says. “From day one, I don’t know, people just fell in love with me. That’s my gift.”

Love isn’t too strong a word to use here. The Friends of Lakewood said the same thing on their Instagram account when they raised money for her new vehicle.

“We all know and LOVE Miss Marian!! Our beloved Lakewood crossing guard!! Let’s show Lakewood LOVE and help get her back on the road,” reads a post from last fall.

It’s hard to beat a new car, but that’s not the only thing Jones has been gifted over the years. She received a heated jacket and gloves, and when her stop sign broke, people rallied to get her a new one. The community supported her when she needed a kidney transplant by raising thousands of dollars and volunteering to take her to dialysis appointments prior to her surgery.

“When you are good to people and respect them,” she says, “I guess it comes back to you.”