Donald Wayne Jones

Our husband and dad, Don Jones, passed away peacefully after a short illness, early on the morning of Sunday, 19 February.  He was born in Pine Hill on 14 February 1943—the child of George and Margie Jones, sixth of ten—and married to Carolyn Travillian of Livingston, from April 1962 until his death.  He was preceded in death by his parents, as well as his siblings Edward, Delbert, Betsy, and Frank; he is survived by his siblings Kathleen, Barbara, Bill, Janie, and Jimmie, along with wife Carol, daughter Alexandra, son Iain, daughter-in-law Ravensara, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and many other extended families.

Don was a complex mix.  He was by turns a frustrated idealist and a freewheeling cynic; a jokester one moment, a loner the next; a sentimentalist who tried not to let it show—but often managed to do so anyway.  He left home shortly after graduating from Brodhead High School, joined the Navy, later worked at a factory in Lexington, and eventually found the work he loved: Delivering the mail, which he did until retirement.  Along the way, he got involved in the community here and there—he was a founding member of the Livingston Fire Department, served on both the Livingston and Mount Vernon Town Councils, and worked to help animals and others in need.  He cycled through a couple of different Protestant churches, even preaching for a little while, before finding his most congenial spiritual home in the Our Lady of Mount Vernon Catholic Church.  He liked some ordinary things (NASCAR, football) and some special things (canoeing, walking around in the woods); he liked some ordinary things in special ways (the craft of guns, the satisfaction of maintaining your vehicle) and some special things in ordinary ways (one of the first things he did on retirement was read Dostoevsky; “Pretty good,” he said).

 Did we mention the jokester part?  Well, all who knew Don knew he always had something to say… and he left behind some final words for us to share.  We think they’re a pretty good way to wrap up things for a special guy: Our dad, Mom’s husband, your friend, or maybe just the one who brought you the mail.

 “Well darn, looks like I have passed.  No, not on the road, but died.  D-E-A-D.  Some will be sad, some not so much so, and some will say ‘Who?’  I have had a pretty good life, I was blessed with a good body, a good wife, and two good children.  I love them all.  Notice I didn’t say loved; I am still around, just in a different zip code, where you are coming too.  But the good body just flat wore out.

 “No services by my own request, it is just a waste of money.  Now you will have to go someplace else.  You can have a memorial if you wish, but probably there will not be very many there.  Other than church I just didn’t mix and mingle.  A loner and loved that too.  My body is to be pickled.

 “Pickled?  Got you didn’t I?  Nah, cremated by my request also.

 “Ta, Ta…”

Arrangements: Mass will be held in Don’s memory at Our Lady of Mount Vernon Catholic Church on Tuesday, February 28th at 6 pm, to be followed by an informal memorial and celebration of his life.
Anyone who knew and wishes to celebrate Don is invited.
 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Donald's honor to your local Animal Welfare Society.