Helen Jones

Helen Catherine Farrell Jones, 89, of Mt. Pleasant, IA, passed away June 29, 2013 at Park Place Elder Living in Mt. Pleasant, IA. Born on October 20, 1923 in Jersey City, NJ, she is the daughter of Frank A. and Helen Krumm Farrell. She attended grade school at St. Nicholas School and graduated from Dickinson High School in 1941. On June 10, 1945, she married Harold Irving Jones in St. Peter's Catholic Church while he was stationed at Conagree Marine Air Field in Columbia, SC. After her marriage, she lived in Raleigh, NC while he attended graduate school earning his Master's Degree in Agriculture at North Carolina State. The couple then moved to Mt. Wolf, PA after Harold accepted a position with the J.E. Baker Co. as a manager for a large acreage apple orchard; later he was promoted to sales manager for the same company and they moved to York, PA. The couple raised three children, Diane, Dennis, and Deborah and were married for 65 years. Harold preceded her in death on September 09, 2010. Helen was a homemaker and mother but balanced her work as a typesetter, working on contract for various companies. She later established her own company, Accuset Composition, working out of her home, and ran the company for six years. Work and children aside, Helen loved cooking, baking, gardening, flowers, bowling, and traveling. She was often retained by the Country Club in York for her skills in making desserts such as cheese cakes and lemon sponge pies. After the arrival of her grandchildren, she and Harold retired and moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1986, residing there for 18 years. While in Arizona, Helen put on another hat and changed her name to "Grammy". She showered love on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, supporting their activities and reading stories, playing games, and traveling with them. Helen also had a number of interests in her own life through those years. She joined a variety of card clubs, played bingo, attended to her flowers and fruit trees, remained a skilled cook, and often entertained at home. She was a member of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church and also volunteered at the Arrowhead Hospital as an information clerk. After moving to Iowa in 2004, she made friends quickly and experienced new travel adventures and recipes. She continued her love of the outdoors and flowers, was a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and of the Church Prayer Shawl and Prayer Pillow Ministry where she learned to crochet. A memorial mass will be held at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant with the Reverend Joseph Phung, Celebrant, on Friday, July 26, 2013 at 10 a.m. A Celebration of Life will follow after the Mass at Mt. Pleasant Sunny Brook Ashford Park, 1406 Linden Dr. Her body has been cremated. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be left to Iowa Hospice of Burlington or the Alzheimer's Association. Survivors include two daughters, Diane (Aaron) Kruse of Donnellson, IA and Deborah (Ronald) Hampton of Peoria, AZ; a son, Dennis; seven grandchildren, Jana (Jeremy) Franz, Krista Hampton, Katie (Bryant) Santsaver, Michael Hampton, Robbie (Paige) Jones, Nathan (Cassandra) Jones, Ashley Jones; thirteen great-grandchildren, Taylor, Madden, Faith, Lucas, Scarlett, Paxton, Jonathan, Patrick, Madeline, Crystal, Ashley, Virginia, and Rachel. Along with her husband, Helen is preceded in death by her parents, a brother Frank, and a great-grandson Cade. The family wishes to thank the staff at Sunny Brook Ashford Park and Park Place Elder Living for their care while she was in residence and Iowa Hospice for their love and support.