A Tribute to Alfred Jones

I was going to start my new blog sight with a list of my New Year's resolutions but, sadly, I will have to postpone those until tomorrow. This morning my daughter, JJ, called to let us know her father in law had died in his sleep last night. Alfred Jones was a great friend of ours and I would like to jot down some of the memories I have of him. We first met when he moved here to Walden from Illinois to pastor the Assembly of God Church. He had 3 sons who were students of mine at the Jr-Sr High School. When my daughter was a senior in high school she married Alfred's oldest son, Ozzie. They have been married ever since and have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. I remember when Alfred officiated at their wedding right here at the cabin at the height of mosquito season. We had a can of Off at the end of each row of chairs and believe me, we used them! I remember Alfred officiating at another service up here of a sadder nature. He preached for Beth's (Danny's 26 year old wife)service up on the hill above our cabin. I also remember some other services of his that were not quite as serious, or maybe I should say we were not as serious when we got the giggles and Alfred had no idea what we were laughing at and tried to settle us down with his "look". The last service I attended that he officiated at was the Sunday after Thanksgiving a little over a month ago. He preached while standing before the congregation when we knew it pained him greatly but he refused to preach while sitting down.

I remember another Thanksgiving time when Alfred came over to our house in town very upset. He insisted we come over to their house because he and Tunita were having problems and needed our help. We got over there and discovered it was a surprise party for Bob and I for our 25th wedding anniversary! Our children and the Jones' had set it all up under our noses and we never suspected. That was 25 years ago and this year they were again present for our 50th anniversary that we celebrated at JJ and their house in Elko. We had a lovely time.

I remember Alfred sitting in a wheel chair in the front row for Erin's graduation just days after having toes removed in the hospital in Salt Lake City and then attending her party the next day. He also tried to talk us into helping him wash his motorcycle that morning! We drew the line at that.

Alfred will always be an inspiration to me in my quest for weight loss. He was the first to have WLS and he did so well and his attitude was so great that I decided to have it too and will always be grateful that I chose to do the life changing procedure. He also inspired me and answered my questions of a religious nature. His faith could always be depended on.

We had many fun times snowmobiling and getting together for family gatherings. He and Tunita were there for our family when Danny was left with two small boys to raise in Laramie. They took them in and watched over the boys, fed the whole family and helped with wash and cleaning while Danny worked. What great friends they are! We will always be grateful for what they did for us!

Alfred went through many very tough times with his family and then with his health. He was courageous and handled it all with a good nature. I am sure he is enjoying the glories of God in heaven.