Obituary: Phyllis Jones

Bud and Phyllis had two sons, Lon and Dale. Bud’s nephew, David Speck, joined the family in the mid-‘60s. She made no distinctions between the boys; all three are her sons.

Sharing an equal desire for both home and adventure, Phyllis balanced family life while managing to get out into the woods of the Northwest and deserts of the Southwest. An avid hiker, she spent happy days trekking with a string of llamas owned by her dear friend Joan Stewart. With her husband Bud, Phyllis made many trips to the canyonlands of Utah and Arizona along with their dear friends the Stewarts, the Cyphers, the Andersons, the Bales, and others. A gifted seamstress, Phyllis sewed her own clothes as well as her family’s, at one time sewing for a small boutique in The Dalles. If a wall in her home was empty, she would paint a picture to fill it. Her chocolate cake was a dangerously rich treat; it’s a blessing that she only prepared it for holiday or birthday celebrations.

Music was central to her life. Such was her determination to learn that she figured out the basics of how to play guitar in about a week. She kept at it, recording multiple CDs with Bud and her sons. Up until a few weeks before her death she was still attending jam sessions in the Mid-Columbia area. She was devoted to the Church of Christ, where she taught Sunday school. Generations of children were enchanted as she presented the Bible through puppetry and creative storytelling. She was instrumental in starting a roller-skating rink in the gym at Chenoweth Middle School. The program benefited the school and paid to refinish the floor every year, fixing the damage caused by hundreds of delighted skaters.

She was preceded in death by her sister, Billie Jean Ferris, and Bud Jones, her husband of 70 years. Phyllis leaves her sons, Dale, David, and Lon; her daughters-in-law, Ann Heyen, Marilyn Schnibbe, and Valery Speck; her nieces, Betty Anderson, Cherri Farris, and Lillian Farris; five granddaughters, three grandsons, many great-grandchildren, and a host of friends.

Phyllis loved sitting under her mimosa tree in the mornings with her beloved dog, Tony, listening to her wind chimes sweetly filling the breeze. If ever you hear them on a sunny morning, please stop a moment and reflect on the life of this determined, gentle soul; her heart full of song, with her strong, busy hands, quietly making life better for those she shared it with.