Obituary of Thomas Jones

Dad was born in Black Diamond, Washington on April 27, 1913 and died at St. Peter Hospital on May 3, 2008. His father was part of a large contingent of Welsh coal miners that settled in that area. Tom was fourth in a family of six children – Henry, Bertha, Ann, Tom, Clarence and Art. When he was five years old, his father died of a small pox vaccination that got infected and his mother, Annie, was left a widow with six children to raise. About this time, his mother’s sister died and left two children, Ralph and Harry. Subsequently, Annie married her brother-in-law, Harry Knipe, and together they raised the eight children.The family moved to Puyallup where they made their home at the top of the “9th Street Hill.” Tom decided he’d had enough of high school and dropped out before his senior year. His step-father got him a job at his employer’s, the Glady-McBean Co. brickyard. After a year of tossing bricks, dad decided school wasn’t so bad after all and went back to Puyallup High School to finish his senior year and graduate with the class of 1933. Dad met his future wife, Lila, during this time – she lived in Sumner and dad would sometimes walk the three miles between Puyallup and Sumner to see her. They married in the middle of the depression years in a small ceremony in Seattle and loved each other for almost 60 years. Their first child, Sharon, was born in Olympia in August 1935. Dad held several jobs during this time and sometimes had a hard time finding the $.13 for the can of milk Sharon needed each day. Son Tom and daughter Judi were added to the family in 1937 and 1940. Dad started his floor covering career working for Mottman’s in Olympia. He went to Philadelphia to the Armstrong Linoleum School for training and became a master craftsman in his profession. Dad was the consummate adventurer – even with a family in tow! He was sure that his next success would be “right around the next corner.” So, we moved to Tacoma, Puyallup and then the big move to Anchorage, Alaska in 1947. We lived right downtown over the floor covering business dad started. Dad learned to fly and became a bush pilot – sometimes flying to areas that looked like no one had ever been there before. He also had a keen interest in gold mining and prospecting, which continued throughout his life. Later we lived in Seward, Alaska, leaving there in 1956. Dad and mom then settled in their final home at Hidden Meadow Lane in Olympia. By this time dad had moved from the floor covering business into the formica or “counter-top” business and his work can be seen in many homes and businesses in the area. After mom died in 1993, dad was welcomed into his daughters’ home where he lived for the next 13 years faithfully attended to by his daughter-in-law “Nurse Carol.” During that time he experienced the thrill of skydiving at age 86 in Yuma, Arizona. At that time he was the oldest person to accomplish this feat and was interviewed by a local station. Dad moved to the Colonial Inn in November 2005 where he met his companion, Alma Knowle. She added greatly to his happiness in his final years. His grandchildren, Marilyn, Anne, Chuck, David, Traci, Stacey and Tucker, were very special to him, as he was to them. He always had great stories to tell, poems to recite and memories to share of his boyhood and adventures along the way. They were always intrigued by his tattoo of “Felix the Cat” on his forearm which he got as a teen-ager on an apple-picking trip to Yakima. Dad enjoyed bowling and bowled on many leagues in the Tacoma and Olympia areas. He also liked to hunt and fish, both of which he did whenever he could. You may leave memories and condolences online by clicking on "View Guestbook" below: