Dorothy Jones Obituary


DOROTHY C. JONES
May 8, 1925 ~ September 16, 2014

Dorothy C. Jones, 89, longtime Vancouver, WA resident, passed away Sept. 16, 2014 in Arizona with her daughter, Gayle Sires, granddaughter, Carin Lewis, and son-in-law, Roger Sires, by her side. She is also survived by her son, Doug Jones; granddaughter, Vanesa Jones; two great- granddaughters, Kyra and Alaisha, all of Vancouver, WA.
Dorothy was always an animal lover, and in her younger years, raised Quarter Horses on their mini 5-acre farm, now Jones Corner. For many years, Dorothy was also a horse trainer and ran Quarter horses at Portland Meadows. Her pride and joy race horse was Destiny Drummer, which she raised, loved, nurtured and trained to win over 16 races at Portland Meadows, including The Great Northwest Speed Challenge which was the first match race in its 36-year history between a Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred.
Dorothy's other special animal was her dog Misty. She had always wanted a Blue Heeler and was given a puppy by Tina Olson in August 1998. They shared a very special bond. It broke her heart when she lost her to cancer at almost 9.
After Dorothy's husband, Clarence, passed away, she moved from the old farm to a house off of Lincoln Blvd. She soon became friends with all her new neighbors.
Dorothy was always an avid gardener and computer nut! She was always taking classes to improve her knowledge of computers. Later, when she was unable to live alone at her house, she, her two dogs and three cats stayed in Gold Canyon, AZ with her daughter and son-in-law. Despite the hot summers, Dorothy made the best of her time in Arizona by watching the hummingbirds at the feeder outside her bedroom window, discovering all kinds of new species of animals, reptiles and bugs, and going to the dog park most days on her electric scooter to watch her beloved dogs, Turbo and Tommy. She also loved to keep her mind active by spending hours a day on her iPad Mini researching things on the internet.
Dorothy will be so greatly missed by her family,
her dogs, and all her wonderful friends.
It will never be the same without her.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her name to the Humane Society for SW Washington, where she adopted Tommy in January 2013. You can also specify it go to the "Chopper Fund". It funds lifesaving medical procedures for dogs who have a prognosis of a normal healthy future with the aid of surgery. For horse lovers, donations can be made in her name to Clark County Adopt a Horse.
Legacy Funeral Home in Mesa, AZ is in charge of Dorothy's arrangements.
Please sign her guest book at: www.columbian.com/obits.

Published by The Columbian on Sep. 30, 2014.
34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315A

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Memories and Condolences
for Dorothy Jones

Not sure what to say?





I still miss you and think of you often still have the last text you sent me on my phone love you

Linda Wood

Family

September 24, 2019

I lived across the st. From Dorthy, she taught me how to ride and talked my parents into getting me a horse.if it wasn't for her id not have the wonderful memories of my adventures,4-h,c.m.o.rides,the wagon train of 89 from id.to the Capitol, and packing in the pasyatin wilderness. I'd come home from school and watch Western movies on T. V. Together.Dorthy was a special person in my life.IM so glad I got to see her while traveling to az. In April, She will be greatly missed.

Dorthy Jones

October 31, 2014

Dorothy was such a special friend to me. I met her in April 1990, when I went to her place to look at a horse she had for sale. We all went riding and the horse turned out not to be a good match for me but as we stood there and talked in her driveway I spotted another beautiful horse out grazing in the pasture. I asked about that one, Casey. She said she wasn't for sale because her granddaughter liked that one.

I left her house, disappointed, but she called me a month later telling me that she would sell Casey to me. I bought the mare when she had just turned 5 years old and I kept her at Dorothy's place for many years until we built our own barn in 2002. Casey and I had a very successful barrel racing career and Dorothy always talked of how glad she was that Casey and I had found eachother, it brought tears of joy to her eyes every time.

Dorothy had always told me how much she wanted to have a Blue Heeler. In 1998 my Blue Heeler, Sage, had puppies and when they were 8 weeks old I gave one to Dorothy that we had affectionately named, Misty. Dorothy and Misty had several great years together and Dorothy always told me that Misty kept her "young." She teased that blue Heelers are not dogs for "old people" and that Misty kept her going. Dorothy lost Misty to cancer in April 2007 and Matt and I were there with Dorothy at the house when we all agreed that it was "time" and we took she and Misty to the vet. Misty was laying on Dorothy's lap in our truck when she crossed over to the Bridge. Matt and I were honored to spend that special moment with Dorothy. That meant alot to her and she thanked me many times for sharing in that moment with her. We buried Misty up here at our place, Dorothy wanted her to be there with her "family" and have a view of the valley.

Dorothy used to come and watch some of my barrel races when Casey and I raced close to home. She was so proud of us and it made me feel so good because I knew how much of an expert she was on horses. She would never come right out and say that we did great (even when we won FIRST place! ha) but she would nonchalantly let me know that she was proud.

Dorothy taught me so much about horses. I have been around them all of my life but I soaked up so much knowledge from her. When I first met her I felt like she thought I was a "novice" and I didn't think she liked me for the longest time. :) I believe that in the generation that she was raised in, that it wasn't a common thing to show affection very openly. After I had known her for about 10 years I rode my horse down the street one afternoon to visit a friend. I stayed there longer than I should have and it became dark outside. The horse that I rode home was black and my clothing was dark. When I got back to Dorothy's she was in the front yard. She didn't say she was worried about me but she said, "It is dark outside and Casey was worried about you!!" I knew then, after knowing her for over 10 years, that she DID care about me and she was worried about me that night.

That was a great turning point because I knew that she really did care for me and I didn't feel so awkward anymore, trying to "fit in" around her.

Dorothy and I used to talk for many hours and watch Misty playing in the water. I would spend hours at her place, visiting with she and Clarence, after I had tended to my stall cleaning chores. Dorothy used to feed in the mornings for me and I use to tell her how amazed I was that she was still climbing up the ladder to the hay loft and dropping down 110-lb. bales of alfalfa when she was well into her mid-late 70's!! I told her that I hoped I would be doing that when I was her age!

I thank Dorothy for her wealth of knowledge and information on horses and just LIFE in general. There was more than a time or two when I felt like giving up on barrel racing but Dorothy would always give me words of encouragement and the fact that I couldn't give up, I thank her for helping to keep me going in my barrel racing.

One day we saw little kittens coming out from underneath the tack room building next to the barn. I snuck up on some of the kittens and caught them. They were feral kittens, the Mom cat had crawled under the building and had her litter. There were 5 and I think we caught 3 of them. A friend caught the others in a live trap and she had those cats forever! I think the last one just passed this past Fall at the age of nearly 17. Dorothy loved her animals and had a kind heart for her animal companions, any pet lucky enough to call Dorothy their Mom had a lifetime of love and great care.

Dorothy has a large group of women who go to lunch when it is one of their birthdays. She asked me to join her Ladies Group for birthday lunches about 10 years ago. I enjoyed those birthday lunches and was honored that Dorothy asked me to join she and her friends.

The year after Clarence passed away we started having Dorothy and her son, Doug, up for Christmas dinner each year. I didn't want Dorothy to be alone for Christmas dinner and she came to the house for many years. Those are great memories and Matt would always make Dorothy a drink he called a "special." She would always have one with Matt and I know she enjoyed herself up at the house and she looked forward to those Christmas dinners. The last time she was here for Christmas dinner we had our 165-lb. Rottweiler, Chopper. He was standing by Dorothy and she was feeding him prime rib from the table and got the biggest kick out of that! Our dogs are family and we have 5 of them. Even though we don't feed them from the table we all found joy in the smile on Dorothy's face as she fed Chopper. His face was table level and he was the gentle giant. Dorothy really thought he was special and she adored him. We lost Chopper 2 weeks later to bone cancer and the photos I took of Dorothy feeding him from the table are favorites of mine.

I hope I was as good of a friend to Dorothy as she was to me. I dearly miss her and will forever have a void in my heart from her presence. I am very lucky to have wonderful memories of her to keep her alive in my heart and in my mind. She was such a special person and she made a positive impact on my life. My twins were 7 months old and are now 25 years old. She was always so good to them and she would show them computer things when she was learning the computer. I was proud of her for taking up computer classes in her later years...she LOVED her computer!

When Dorothy went to live with her daughter, Gayle, in AZ., I made it a point to go visit her every 5 or 6 months. She would always tell me how excited she was for me to come visit. A very fond memory I have of one visit was when we watched the Kentucky Derby together in May 2013. She had been very ill and had not come out of her bedroom much but she came out in the living room at Gayle's place and she sat there on the couch and we watched the Derby with Roger and Gayle. I would sit in her room with her and we would watch horse racing on TV during my visits too. When I visited in October of 2013 I took her to Macy's...she loved Macy's and said it was her favorite store. Once in the store she looked at her watch and we agreed to meet back there in 45 minutes. She went and bought a new sweater and met me back at our meeting spot. We had lunch at Red Robin and had a very nice day.

My last visit there with her was the end of March this year (2014.) I got her to go sit outside by the pool and enjoy the beautiful evening. We sat there in lounge chairs by the pool with a cocktail in our hands and visited for 2 hours! It was such a great memory and we had a special time reminiscing about old times and I was enthralled by her stories of time gone by and life lessons. That was the visit where her dog, Turbo, decided that I was OK and he would jump up in the lounge chair with me and lay next to my leg. That made me feel good and I know that I was "accepted" by him. She took photos of him laying next to me, Dorothy loved to take pictures. However, she didn't like HER photo taken!! haha I don't normally take many pictures but when I was there visiting her in March I took many of them of Dorothy and she and Gayle together. I am so glad that I did because I was scheduled to visit her on October 3rd and she left us before I could get there to visit her. She called me on my birthday in September and told me how excited she was for my visit, she sounded so happy. That is the way I want to remember her voice, happy and healthy.

I hope I was as good of a friend to Dorothy as she was to me. I dearly miss her and will forever have a void in my heart from her presence. I am very lucky to have wonderful memories of her to keep her alive in my heart and in my mind. She was such a special person and she left a mark on the lives of many people.

I will never forget you, Dorothy! Your voice saying, "I love you" at the end of our phone conversations will forever be etched in my mind. You are together again with all of your special animal companions from the years throughout your life. I know you are throwing the ball for Misty and I know you will take care of all of the animal companions that I have had and loved during the years we have been friends and you will love them until the day when we see each other again. This is not goodbye, this is "Until We Meet Again my Dear Friend." I love you.

Tina Olson

October 27, 2014

We got to live next door to Dorothy from when she moved in to her great house until she had to leave to go live with Gayle in Arizona. And we still saw her when we went to Phoenix for any reason.

I liked her stories about her adventures as a young woman--she was intrepid!

Dorothy had a great sense of humor, but droll and dry--you had to be paying attention to catch some of her wisecracks!

Before she moved to Arizona, she always insisted on taking care of our pets when we were out of town. She was even taking care of them and comforting our dog Daisy when our tornado came through a few years ago, and she remembered Vancouver's big tornado from when she was younger.

We'll miss her stories and her love for animals.

Janine Hook Pierson

October 26, 2014

Dorothy was always so good to me and I will always hold close in my heart the fun childhood memories on the farm! I loved her personality she was so funny! I will forever love and miss her!

Suzanne Kintner

October 23, 2014

Shortly after she had moved into her house next to mine, Dorothy came over one day and ring my doorbell.

When I open the door, she said "Hi, I'm your new neighbor Dorothy Jones. Would you be interested in going to a monthly computer club that meets nearby."

I invited Karen and we sat in my living room as she described the local windows-based computer club that met in a church in the Minnehaha area.

When I showed up at her house on the appointed evening, she held out her keys and asked, "Would you like to drive?" That became the first of many outings we would take to the computer club, lunch and local errands.

One of our favorite activities was sitting in her beautifully appointed living room and talking. She loved telling stories about her travels, alone or with one of her girlfriends,as an adventurous young woman whose parents were ahead of their time in allowing her the freedom to travel independently.

She also recounted stories of her son Doug and daughter Gayle as they were growing up. She also recounted tales of taking granddaughter horseback riding.

No one could be around Dorothy long without knowing the love she had for animals, her dogs, cats and her race horses.

She was especially proud of the challenge race that her favorite horse, Destiny Drummer, won decisively against a local thoroughbred.

Another of my favorite memories was the three or four times that Dorothy and I set up a "cooking day" and baked and ate some recipe that we found online or in a recipe book, sometimes using ingredients from one or the other of our gardens.

Dorothy was truly one of a kind whose impact on my life will always be remembered.

Chuck & Janine Pierson

October 16, 2014

I've known Dorothy for the better part of my life, and she's always been a true and faithful friend. Always willing to help and give of whatever she had. Always upbeat and enthused. I remember when she wanted to get a computer and was asking me how to use one. What a joke! After she bought a computer, she could give lessons on how to work it! She did everything with energy and enthusiasm. Hard to believe she's gone. I will miss just knowing she's there if I want to talk to her. It's hard to lose friends who go back so far in your life. Dorothy was a very good friend to her friends.

Joy Kosterman

October 9, 2014

Trying to find the words that best describes my Grandmother is very difficult. Words can never express the love, the compassion & her giving nature, her unconditional love.
Growing up looking back all I remember is everything she's ever done for me.
She taught me so much how to be a great woman how to care for others.
Grandma Jones was definitely one-of-a-kind. Her and I shared the same favorite color purple. Haha I don't know if my favorite color was purple or my favorite color purple was because of my Grandma!!?? Haha
I Remember my Grandma cooking my Grandfather three meals a day.. Every day like clockwork. Any fruits or vegetables were more than likely grown in their garden. Grandma had a green thumb and a love for gardening. I remember when she taught me how to cook sautéed teriyaki mushrooms!!! They were always so good!! Can't forget!! she'd always have a stash of candy in the bottom drawer next to the refrigerator. If I wanted a healthy snack she'd let me go pick blueberries off the bushes she grew.
Grandma put me in 4H. I have so many memories as a child growing up with horses because of her. She would take the time to drive me out of town so I could perform horses and even won money performing horses!!
I remember most of all the horses names that I grew up around. Her favorite horses were Kalen, Casey, Orphan, George, Curly, Drummer, Smoky & even my Grandpas horse, Joey.
She used to take me to the race track also when she still used to race horses.
Because of my grandma I was able to have a wonderful childhood growing up on the farm. Grandma treated all her animals as if they were her own child.
Our favorite thing to do together is going on the trails at wipple creek with the horses ..we would ride for hours!!
Later on in life I was blessed with two daughters. Grandma used to always tell me how proud she was of me always made sure that I knew that she loved me and her great granddaughters very much!! My life is easier because of her, her love, and her unconditional ways.
She eased alot of stresses in my life.. With a house we all could call home...
making really, a dream come true.
Always I have felt my grandma's arms wrapped around me even if she wasn't present she's always there and that feeling will never change and will never go away.. Always on my mind always in my heart... I wish I could see my Grandma just one more time so I could tell her all again how grateful I am of her. I could truly only wish to be half the woman my Grandmother is & was!!
I truly believe with the heart, mind, body and soul, that my Grandma possessed...
I truly believe she's in heaven in paradise.... Waiting for her friends, family and all her animals with open arms, when it's our time...
I love you Grandma I miss you I hope to see you and hug you again...
With love and sincerity your Granddaughter, Vanesa

October 8, 2014

I have so many amazing memories of my grandma. I spent every summer with her growing up as a child. She taught me something new every year about gardening. I loved being able to pick fresh berries, grapes and veggies that we would eat every day I was there. I attribute my love of healthy food to those experiences. Her passion for horses rubbed off on me early on. I learned to ride and care for them by the time I was 6. She took me to riding lessons, the track and on trail rides every chance she got. She even gave me my first horse Jill. We had so much fun! I could hang out in the barn for her creepy basement for hours and never run out of things to do. I will miss her kindness, quick wit, generosity and even her smell. She was like no other grandmother I ever met! Thank you for a lifetime of love and happiness. Maybe you are riding your scooter around Heaven? I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!! ??

Carin Lewis

October 4, 2014

I had the privilage of having my mom spend the last two years living with me in AZ. I know how much she loved WA and living in her house off Lincoln Ave. but she was just not able to live by herself anymore. Mom never complained except when I told her she had to eat! She came back from almost dying in February of 2013. Was in hospice and they graduated her in May! She always said "I fooled everyone". Always on the internet, she purchased and electric scooter that looked like a Vespa. This gave her the freedom to ride it around our subdivision. It was so wonderful, it gave her freedom. Everyone here knew her as the little gray haired lady with her hair blow back going with the peddle to the metal! I always felt bad that she wasn't able to go back and live in the her "dream" house but she always made the best of it living with us. She was such a wonderful mom, it will never be the same without her. I miss her more than word can ever say. I would give anything to have her back. I LOVE YOU MOM

Gayle Sires

October 2, 2014

She will be greatly missed. What a True Friend.

Gary & Shari Webb

October 2, 2014

Dorothy was a wonderful friend to me. I talked to her every Sunday and we went over our week. We use to go to lunch every month. One of my best memories would be when we both took Turbo to dog training. Turbo is smarter than both of us and would run circles around us and I'm sure he knew the training commands before we did. We had a lot of laughs and really enjoyed each other and our animals. I know she is looking down on all of us with a smile.

October 1, 2014

It's probably about 50 years or so since I first became acquainted with Dorothy. Her daughter, Gayle and I go back a lot of years. Dorothy's love for horses was apparent the first time I met her. In later years, with no horses, her dogs and cats filled that love. She always had a sly smile and quick wit about her. I will remember and think of her often.
My love to you, Gayle and Doug

Mary Illingworth-Brown

September 30, 2014

I miss her very much and am very greatfull that I got to know her so well and came to love her very much. I enjoyed the time I spent with her over the past year very much I love you aunt Dorothy

Linda Wood

September 30, 2014

Doug & Gayle,
Very sad to hear the passing of Dorothy. Dorothy was a very open,friendly caring person. She loved gardening & even more so her pets.
I consider myself lucky to have known Dorothy.

Thinking of you both,
Ric Buckmiller

Ric Buckmiller

September 30, 2014

Showing 1 - 15 of 15 results

Make a Donation
in Dorothy Jones's name

Memorial Events
for Dorothy Jones

To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one.

How to support Dorothy's loved ones
Commemorate a cherished Veteran with a special tribute of Taps at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.

Read more
Attending a Funeral: What to Know

You have funeral questions, we have answers.

Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?

What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?

Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?

We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.

Read more
Resources to help you cope with loss
How to Write an Obituary

Need help writing an obituary? Here's a step-by-step guide...

Read more
Estate Settlement Guide

If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.

Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast

Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.

Read more
The Five Stages of Grief

They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.

Read more
Ways to honor Dorothy Jones's life and legacy
How to Write an Obituary

Need help writing an obituary? Here's a step-by-step guide...

Read more
Obituary Templates

These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.

Read more
Obituary Examples

You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.

Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?

Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.

Read more