James Jones Sr.

In loving memory of a wonderful person.

Jim was my father-in-law. For a long time he´s been the gold standard of generous and funny that I use to compare other people.
I worked a lot with him doing electrical on the side. One job was wiring condos in Cedar City for a week. Jim, Steve and I shared a hotel room. At some point in the middle of one night Jim sat straight up in bed, flipped the light on and yelled, "What the F*** was that!!??" He said it sounded like someone let a hog loose at a food trough. It turned out to be my snoring. Every lunch for the rest of that trip, and at random meals for the rest of his life, he´d jiggle his face make snorting sounds, and he made sure everyone at the table knew the story.
Early in my marriage and struggling a little financially, I worked with Jim doing some remodel work on a customer´s home. He negotiated the cost of some last minute changes and had the customer write him a check for the changes that day, leaving the payable line blank. On the drive home, Jim looked at the check, looked at me, and tossed the check over (probably $150) saying he would never remember to deposit it. He told me to take it and put my own name on it. I think it was his plan from the start.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent around Jim; socializing, vacationing and working (although work never really felt like work). I´ll surely miss him.