Amanda Mechelle Jones

Amanda Mechelle Jones (A.J.) – age 28, a native of Mobile, AL and resident of Mobile for the past few years was killed in an automobile accident in Denver, CO on Oct. 27th by an alleged drunk driver. She was the only child of Oscar S. and Cynthia (Marcus) Jones. Amanda attended St. Luke’s Episcopal School in her formative years and then on to UMS-Wright Preparatory School where she graduated in the year 2000. She was very active in school sports that included softball, volleyball and basketball. Mims and Westside Park softball programs also played a large role in her life. One of her first loves was the seas and marine life. In 1997, she attended the summer program at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the next year attended a program with USA Marine Sciences on Andros Island, Bahamas. At that time in her life her main goal was to find why the coral was dying in the Caribbean and swim with the dolphins. Amanda was a member of DBS Sorority while attending UMS-Wright, which had her involved in many charitable events, which she savored. She attended college at the University of West Florida and lived in Pensacola for five years where she also worked part-time at Cracker Barrel and Macaroni Grill. Amanda decided to change her life goals and returned home to Mobile where she worked part-time at Macaroni Grill and Oysterella’s Seafood Restaurant while attending school and working on a nursing degree. Her goal was to work in the NICU at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital. She fell in love with the hospital while volunteering as a candy striper with the young cancer patients for several years. Amanda had many hobbies and interests and her lust for life was tremendous. She just recently became involved in fishing (Deep Sea and Fresh Water) and it quickly became a passion. Many of her loves included watching football (AU and UA – a house divided), gourmet cooking, snorkeling and hiking which is why she was visiting Denver, to hike in the Rockies. She was very involved with animal rescues and finding homes for them. Funny thing many of them ended up with her. Amanda loved being surrounded by family and her many friends. She had the kind of Broad smile that lit up the entire room when she walked in; it was infectious. The twinkling blue-green eyes, her larger than life personality and her little spitfire self was taken from us all too quickly as God must have been short an angel. In addition to her grieving parents she leaves maternal grandparents, Frank R. and Sophia R. Marcus; her paternal grandparents, Oscar S. and Estelle T. Jones predeceased her, along with her uncle Lawrence S. Jones; uncles, aunts, cousins and many good friends are left grieving. She was the light of many people’s lives, which was put out all too soon. Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 6, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. from the chapel of Radney Funeral Home. Visitation will be Friday from 5-8 p.m. at the funeral home. Entombment will be the Mobile Memorial Gardens Mausoleum. Memorial donations may be made to ARF, P.O. Box 50065, Mobile, AL 36605, Susan G. Komen/Breast Cancer Awareness, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Ste. #250, Dallas, TX 75244, or to MADD, 2101 Eastern Blvd. #210, Montgomery, AL 36117. Many thanks go to family and friends that have been here for us. We also wish to thank the Denver, CO Fire Dept. and paramedics who worked in vain to save our daughter. Everyone we have been in contact with in Denver has been very kind, which includes all law enforcement officials and medical staff.