Phyllis Louise Cherry Jones

I am delighted to see so many friends and relatives here today to celebrate the life of my Grandma. For those of you that do not know me, my name is Lindsay and I am Phyllis' granddaughter. My Grandma meant so much to me and I am honored to say a few words about her today.

Grandma was born in Saskatchewan just west of Saskatoon on August 10, 1942 to parents Edward and Emily, better known as Emma, Cherry. She was the forth of six children. Her brother Ernie was the oldest, Florence and Joan were her two older sisters and Ila and Barbara were her younger sisters. My Grandma and her family moved to Calgary around the year 1949. The three youngest sisters, one being my Grandma, seemed to be the trouble makers. I was told about an incident involving cigarettes, an abandoned sofa and a garage fire....

Grandma started working at Loblaws, where she met my Grandpa Vern. They married on October 7th, 1963 and raised three children, my Uncle Rick, Uncle Brad, and of course my Mom, Cheryl. They had a couple of different houses before moving to an acreage in Bearspaw. It was there that Phyllis opened up her home for countless family dinners and get togethers. These days were filled with gardening, horseback riding, motorcycles, trampolines and a lot of cigarettes from what I hear. Early one summer Grams got a brilliant idea, she wanted to have a greener grass so she sat down with a lighter and started burning patches of dead grass. A wind gust came up and the fire quickly burned out of control. Mission accomplished, the grass never looked better. Unfortunately they were missing a fence...

When her kids were young, Grams drove their school bus from Bearspaw to Cochrane. The kids on her bus called it the Turtle bus, she was a very cautious driver. One of the kids on the school bus gave her a picture of a turtle and shortly after that, she gave her resignation. She drove the bus for a couple of years before working for the Royal Bank.

Summers were spent at Mara Lake and I know that my Mom and her brothers have lots of fond memories there. They always seemed to be there on August 10th, my Grandmas birthday and in the celebration Grandma would be thrown into the cold lake. This always brought great distress to my Mom. Grandma was always adventurous, she liked to water ski just as much as the kids did.

My Grandma and Grandpa loved to travel when they were able to. They went on a Caribbean Cruise with her sister Florence. And took the family on trips to Hawaii and Disneyland.

When the kids got older, Grandma and Grandpa moved back to Calgary to Huntington Hills and this is where all my memories with them begin. We spent many evenings sitting around the kitchen table playing cards, watching Wheel of Fortune and helping Grandpa roll cigarettes... My parents never really liked that. I also remember playing out in the yard while Grandma and Grandpa worked in the garden.

Grandma and Grandpa loved to camp, they had a motor home and would go out to Banff and the Kananaskis many weekends throughout the summer. They enjoyed camping with their good friends Barb and Dick Lunn, usually at Tunnel Mountain in Banff. They would also visit Jean, Georgie and Kevin at Canyon Campground in the Kananskis. We all have fond memories of these special camping trips.

Grams became very ill in the late 1990s and had to take an early retirement from the Royal Bank. On October 30th of 2002, Grandma was in the Peter Lougheed Hospital in intensive care, when the doctors told her they had found a matching donor and were flying her to Edmonton where she would receive a double lung transplant. Our family will be forever grateful for this gift of life. While Grams was recovering in the University of Alberta Hospital we were all saddened to receive the news that Grandpa Vern had cancer. And three months later on March 1st, Grandpa lost his battle. This was such a hard time for everyone, especially Grandma. She was given a second chance at life but was unable to share it with her husband.

Once Grams was healthy and back on her feet she seemed to have a zest for life, she was always on the go. I remember Grams coming over all the time and wanting to play cards and games, she would usually win too. Grams and my Mom took a trip to Las Vegas together and Grams stayed out later than my Mom most nights. I also remember our family taking Grams to the Oval to go skating, Grams insisted, "I'll be fine, Skating is like riding a bike!". She took one step onto the ice and landed flat on her butt. But she was a trooper, she got right back up, pushing a chair this time.

Grams was always so much fun to be around. Sometimes the things she would say would make all of our jaws drop. She always had us laughing. Grams was a huge Calgary Stampeder's fan, we have seasons tickets and she hardly ever missed a game, rain or shine. She was never afraid to speak her mind. At one game, her team did her proud and beat the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. Grams ran up to a big man decked out in Riders gear and yelled in his face, "DID YOU SEE THAT GAME?!". I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad were pretending they didn't know her.

Grams loved Christmas time, she loved to see all of us together and she really loved to spoil all of us with gifts. Every Christmas morning she would call my Mom, waking her up to ask, "Are you guys up?". And this was always after already being at Brad and Jody's house. Being the younger grandchildren Taylor and Craig were always up earlier than Ryan and I.

Grandmas drink of choice was beer, whenever she would come over, one of her first questions would be, "So, are we gonna have a beer?" She would always indulge in a couple before dinner and then move onto tea. She was our Tea Granny!

For many years Grams loved Bingo, she went several times a week, but she must have gotten bored with that and she raised the stakes and moved onto poker. She loved poker a little too much, it was always a sensitive subject between my Mom and her. However, she did know the game well. One year Craig's hockey team had a poker tournament as a fundraiser. Grams played and almost made it to the end, she was in the money. Once Grams gave up poker she spent a lot of time playing computer games, her favorite game was Bingo Blitz.

Throughout your life you come across so many people that influence you in different ways, but there are a few special people that will touch your life forever. For me, my Grams is one of those special few. Her selfless loving nature, her soft chuckle, her feisty sense of humor and her deep love for her family. These are all things I will never forget about the amazing lady I was lucky enough to call my Grams. I would not be the person I am today if I did not have such a strong figure to look up to. Speaking on behalf of myself and my entire family, I know that not a day will go by where she does not cross our minds. We will hold our memories close to our hearts, you do not realize how special these are until it is all you have left.

We love you Grams

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Phyllis Louise Jones

1942 - 2012

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Phyllis Louise Jones. Her battle with cancer ended on October 26, 2012 at the Santuari Hospice (P.L.C.) in Calgary, AB at the age of 70. Phyllis was married to Vernon A. Jones for 39 years and together they raised a happy family of three children. She was employed by the Royal Bank where she took an early retirement due to illness. On October 30, 2002, Phyllis was blessed with a gift of life. She underwent a bilateral lung transplant, and we will be forever grateful for the donor family. Phyllis was predeceased by her husband Vern Jones in 2003. Phyllis will be lovingly remembered by her children Rick Jones (Caroline), Cheryl Voelk (Peter), Brad Jones (Jody) and her grandchildren Ryan, Lindsay, Taylor and Craig. She will be missed by many dear friends and loved ones. A Memorial Service will be held at FOSTER'S Garden Chapel, 3220-4th Street NW (across from Queens Park Cemetery) on Friday November 2, 2012 at 3:00 pm. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made to PLC PAH Greatest Needs Funds, Southern Alberta Lung Transplant, 1441 29th Street NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4J8. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca.

"We love you and we will miss you dearly.

You will always be in our hearts and memories."

FOSTER'S GARDEN CHAPEL

FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORIUM

Telephone: 403-297-0888

Honoured Provider of Dignity Memorial