KATHERINE BERNICE JONES

KATHERINE BERNICE JONES Bernice Jones - May 26, 1919 - May 20, 2024. She was born Katherine Bernice Metz on May 26, 1919, in Bangs, Texas, to Ethel French Metz and Amos E. Metz. Bernice slipped the bonds of this earth on May 20th in Emmett, Idaho, at the age of 104, a few days shy of her 105th birthday. Bernice and her brother, A.B., and sister, Christine, grew up in Brown County under the harsh conditions of the Great Depression. Their father was a farmer, butcher and dairyman, and their mother was a resourceful, hard-working individual and a devoted student of nutrition who lived to the ripe old age of 109. Bernice always attributed her family's remarkable longevity to their daily dose of collard greens. After graduating from Bangs High School, Class of 1935-36, Bernice worked in a local diner to save enough money to enter nursing school in Brady, TX. In 1941 she married C.W. Jones, of Comanche, however, it took him nine proposals to get to "yes." They left immediately for jobs with the Canol Pipeline in the Yukon Territory, making the long journey from Comanche in an old Ford with a hymnal for entertainment. C.W., "Doc," was hired as a pipefitter and Bernice was a civilian nurse employed by the US Army. When war broke out, Doc joined the Merchant Marines as a deck engineer aboard the Liberty Ships and Bernice lived with her mother and sister in Sacramento, CA. At the end of the war, the couple moved to Dunnigan, CA where they began their family. They lived for some years in Bothell, WA, and Phoenix, AZ, eventually settling in Boise, ID. As a young mother, Bernice hung up her nursing cap and followed her passion as a watercolor and oil artist, juggling her enthusiasm for plein-air, still life, and portraiture with the many duties of raising four children. Her offspring often found her in the early morning hours painting a landscape in the garden. Doc liked to complain that the scrambled eggs always tasted like turpentine but to her children that was the sweet perfume of their mother. She stole every precious hour possible to paint, and it wasn't unusual to find her racing for Sunday church services with wet paint in her hair from a 4 a.m. frenzied session in the studio, biscuit dough under her fingernails, and dressed in the same navy skirt and white blouse she wore for 52 Sundays running. During her lifetime Bernice's art was featured in many galleries in the west and she usually walked home with the Best of Show ribbon at various local art competitions. One art critic described her inimitable painterly style as "happy slapdash," and no one could have defined her freewheeling breezy technique more aptly. She was famous for her cowboy paintings, but her true love was non-objective art. In 1981, Bernice and Doc retired to Comanche to be near their childhood homes and reconnect with family and old friends. They spent many happy years together with Doc stocking his pond with catfish for the grandkids to catch, and Bernice burning the midnight oil in her studio, or dashing off to paint with the Brownwood Art group. After 52 years together, Doc passed away in 1993, and Bernice eventually returned to Idaho to live a quiet and comfortable life near her daughter. Her catalog of work grew to over 350 pieces of art, with many paintings either sold or given away that are undocumented. Bernice's portraits of Quanah Parker and various Native American chiefs, as well as a mural of Indian life at Sipe Springs, are currently on display at the Comanche County Museum. For those folks lucky enough to know her, Bernice was a beauty oblivious to her own movie star looks. She always wore an inscrutable smile and charmed the world with her quiet poise and southern drawl. She was interested in people and a better listener than talker. She had a keen political mind and loved discussing current events with anyone who sat at her kitchen table. It was common practice for her daughters' boyfriends to return the girls home safely at the appointed hour and then find themselves drinking coffee and sharing their hopes and dreams to Bernice until Doc would rouse and shoo them off. She was a favorite of her extended family of nieces, nephews, and her in-laws, and treated everyone with genuine Southern hospitality. As a devout Lutheran, Bernice was a contributing member of her local church wherever she lived, including Our Savior's in Phoenix, Redeemer Lutheran in Boise, Hope Lutheran In Comanche, and Our Redeemer Lutheran in Emmett. In her final act of selflessness, Bernice donated her body to medical research at Idaho State University. How like her to consider others as she departed this earth. Bernice was preceded in death by her two eldest children, Victoria C. Josslin and Robert B. Jones. She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth (Mike) Medes of Emmett, and son, Mark Jones of Milwaukee, WI, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Services will be held Saturday, May 25th, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Boise at 10 a.m. Interment will be at Pendergrass Cemetery in Sidney at a later date. Many of Bernice's paintings may be viewed on her Facebook artist page, and the family encourages you to share your memories of Bernice there https://facebook.com/398026816974743 as well as at Wilks Funeral Home in Idaho, https://www.wilksfuneralhome.com/ In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Comanche County Museum, Salvation Army, or charity of choice. The family wishes to express their gratitude for the loving care provided to Bernice by the staff of Apple Valley Residence in Emmett, and Canyon Home Care and Hospice.