Donald Robert Jones

Donald R. “Don” Jones died peacefully at Hope West on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 from complications of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. He was 82. Don was born May 11, 1936 in Collbran Colorado to the late Glenn Jones and Wanda Kiggins Jones.

Don was the very last of a dying breed. He was a true cowboy in every sense of the word and he had done about everything imaginable on the back of a horse. He lived by the motto that “the best thing for the inside of a man was the outside of a horse.” His love of horses and the ranching/farming way of life was instilled in him as a very young boy. Even though he grew up within the confines of the city of Grand Junction, he spent many summers on his uncle’s ranch in Collbran. It was there that he began learning how to ride, rope and “spin a yarn”. He was quite skilled at all of these. It was Don’s skill telling stories that delighted so many people of all ages that he was urged to put his stories on paper. Fortunately, publishers saw a potential and it did take long for him to become a published author.

Since he knew at a very early age that he was wanted to be a cowboy, Don decided he was going to earn a living doing something the cowboy way. He literally “roped” his soon to be his partner into joining him. He married the love of his life, Cheryl Woodcock, and the two of them embarked on a journey together at ages 17 and 18 to earn a living in the horse business. Cheryl stayed by his side all the way through to the difficult end.

Don always like to say that he “cut his teeth riding rough string and spoiled horses”. When he learned that this was a difficult way to feed a family, he and Cheryl and their young son Robby, headed off to California to horse shoeing school at Cal Polly, San Louis Obispo. After graduating, he and Cheryl returned to Grand Junction and began the business of Jones Horse Shoeing. They purchased a small house near the corner of 26 Road and G. Don soon earned a reputation as an excellent farrier who specialized in therapeutic horse shoeing. His reputation grew as people would bring horses from all over Colorado and other surrounding states. He also worked with several of the veterinarians on the western slope to help make lame horses sound.

Not too long after starting the shoeing business, Don and Cheryl started training horses. Soon thereafter they became known as Jones Horse Shoeing and Training. Over the years shoeing, training and then providing riding lessons became a family business. Robby and daughter Teri joined the team. Together the family spent many hours training and showing horses locally, throughout Colorado and the neighboring states. In recognition for his contribution of his contribution to the horse industry, in 2017 Don was elected to the Horseman’s Hall of Fame.

Throughout the years, many people and horses came through “Horse Hollow,” the place on 26 and G Road. Still today, former students come by to say “hi” and to share their personal story of the difference Don and Cheryl made in their life. In a world of constant change and turmoil, there was one place that always seemed constant and never changing. You could always count on Don and Cheryl being there. And you could also count on a story or two from Don, most of them true, or at least most of the facts.

Don will be greatly missed by his friends and family. His hope however was not for the things of this earth, even as much as he loved life. His hope was in the Lord Jesus Christ who he had placed his faith as a young man. It was this faith that changed him and gave him the power to persevere to the end. Even as he struggled with congestive heart failure, COPD, 2 broken hips and Parkinson’s disease, he never gave up. Many men would have quit. Not Don; as he always said “never ever be a quitter.” He attacked his difficult health conditions with the same intensity that he attacked life. “Bapa you sure will be missed!”

Don is survived by his wife Cheryl, his son Rob, daughter in law Marissa, daughter Teri, son in law Tim as well as four grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday August 31 at Canyon View Vineyard Church 736 24 ½ Road.