Daughter Terri tribute to her dad at his funeral.
Good Morning:
Thank you for coming today to celebrate our father and Grandfather's life.
Several of us want to share our thoughts about Dad today and I get to go first because I am #1. That's what Dad called me being the first born.
Dad made friends easily and was truly interested in other people and their welfare.
We would go camping Dad would set up the camper and our site. Then Mom would start to fix something to eat. He would wander off, when dinner was done she would say "where did your dad go he knows I was making dinner." We would find him somewhere in the camp ground making friends with the other campers.
Dad and Nancy made their home a refuge for nephews, nieces and grandchildren as well as foster children. Giving these children a chance to have a stable home environment.
He told me everyone's circumstances in life is different and that you have to over look the bad and look for the good in everyone and Treat them with respect. This outlook made Dad a lot of friends and the respect of the people that knew him
Dad was a cautious man. Always being aware of danger in any situation.
The only time I can remember him not thinking it out before he did something was we were in Yellowstone looking for fire wood which was scarce. He found this log and it was about 6 ft long. He took the log and struck it to the ground to break it in two. The log broke came back and took a chunk out of his chin. We had to search for urgent care he got 2 butterfly stitches.
He was a planner. Any project that he tackled he would sit down and plan it all out on paper. Going over it till he worked it all out.
But he also was easily distracted from the task at hand. He would be working on the tractor with Cecil and take off for a tool. Cecil would think wow where did he get off to with that tool? Cecil would go looking for him and find him in the garage working on a different project. This tendency drove his son and son-in-laws a little nuts.
Dad was compassionate and dutiful.
He helped his siblings take care of their elderly parents. Not shirking the duty off to his wife he took his turns feeding and bathing his parents. This made a real impression on me. I was able to understand the satisfaction and the sense of fulfillment given the opportunity to do that for him when Nancy went to stay with Clara after the birth of Makayla.
Dad attended so many funerals on the VFW ritual team for fellow veterans only God knows the number. Sometimes it would be three to four a week.
He felt a sense of duty to both his country and his family.
Dad told me several times "we are on this earth for one reason. To save our soul." I think I can safely say dad has accomplished his mission to save his soul.
Thank you! Theresa [Jones] Rose.
Notes:
Bernard is a Korean War Veteran.
Bernard worked for Ford Motor Co. in Monroe, MI. His family and the Younglove family were neighbors for 49 years. Death of his father terminated the long neighbor relation with this family but not the friendship it continues to grow.
By Ray Kisonas
Monroe News staff reporter
Posted May 31, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Updated at 9:04 AM
CARLETON — Step inside the tidy home of Nancy Jones on Carleton West Rd. and it’s like walking into a military museum.
Numerous photographs of servicemen and women in crisp uniforms adorn the walls. A large framed flag that flew over Iraq adorns another wall.
There’s also a shadowbox depicting an Army camp similar to one inhabited by Cpl. Bernard Jones during the Korean War.
And then there’s the main attraction. In its own special section of the room is the dedication to Cpl. Jones, proud Korean War veteran and Mrs. Jones’ husband, who died last August at 85. Built with replicated 155mm and 105mm Howitzer shells, the same type Cpl. Jones fired during the war, the memorial display was a surprise to Mrs. Jones on what would have been the couple’s 37th wedding anniversary.
“When I first saw it, I just broke down,” Mrs. Jones said. “It really got to me. He would have been so proud.”
A member of the 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Cpl. Jones fired shell after shell upon the enemy while serving in Korea from 1950 to 1953.
When he joined the Army, Cpl. Jones continued a family military tradition that dates back to the Civil War.
But if it was up to his father, Cpl. Jones would have never seen action.
A wounded veteran of World War I and the recipient of the Purple Heart, Dewain Jones tried to persuade his son to avoid the conflict. Another son, also named Dewain, served inWorldWar II.
“His dad didn’t want him to go,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was gonna take him to Canada.”
But the young man would have none of that Canada talk. He joined and endured frigid conditions and repeated blasts without ear protection.
He returned home and began a family. He later married the former Nancy Curley and together they raised a blended family of six. The daughter they had together, Clara, married Michael Pilarski, who is in the Navy. He came up with the idea to create the memorial, which includes a photo of Mr. Jones while in the Army, the medals he earned and an American flag, folded neatly and placed in a triangular military display case. The memorial also is equipped with a television screen that shows photographs of family members that scroll along to songs like “Proud To Be an American.”
“Bernie and Nancy had done so much for our servicemen and women that I wanted his display to reflect that,” Senior Chief Naval Aircrewman Pilarski said in an e-mail. “He was so proud to be a part of his gun crew and unit that I wanted to incorporate his shadow box into the design concept.” The memorial fits nicely in the room that includes members of the Curley family, who also have a long military history. Mrs. Jones’ father, Lavern Curley, was a Japanese prisoner of war forced to build a bridge in the jungles of Thailand, an event depicted in the 1957 movie “Bridge on the River Kwai.”
A framed letter from Mr. Curley during that time hangs on a wall in the mini-museum.
“Dear Family,” it reads. “Am prisoner of war and in good health. Hope all is well at home. Love, Your Son.”
Mrs. Jones said she and her husband began creating the military room long ago and kept adding family military photographs and other pieces, such as a ceremonial sword presented to Mr. Jones by Gen. George Armstrong Custer reenactor Steve Alexander.
“We started adding photos and kept going,” she said. “We just kept adding pictures.”
The Jones and Curley families have a long history of service. Mrs. Jones said four family members — two grandchildren, a son-in-law and a nephew — are still serving.
After his time in Korea, Mr. Jones continued to practice his patriotism through a lifetime of volunteering at Monroe Post 1138, Veterans of Foreign Wars, by attending 999th reunions and serving as treasurer of the World Wars Monument in Monroe.
He and Mrs. Jones also created the idea of placing flags on graves of fallen soldiers in local cemeteries every Memorial Day. “He never really stopped serving,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was so proud to help others who served and to be there for them. He was just a kind and loving man.”
Good Morning:
Thank you for coming today to celebrate our father and Grandfather's life.
Several of us want to share our thoughts about Dad today and I get to go first because I am #1. That's what Dad called me being the first born.
Dad made friends easily and was truly interested in other people and their welfare.
We would go camping Dad would set up the camper and our site. Then Mom would start to fix something to eat. He would wander off, when dinner was done she would say "where did your dad go he knows I was making dinner." We would find him somewhere in the camp ground making friends with the other campers.
Dad and Nancy made their home a refuge for nephews, nieces and grandchildren as well as foster children. Giving these children a chance to have a stable home environment.
He told me everyone's circumstances in life is different and that you have to over look the bad and look for the good in everyone and Treat them with respect. This outlook made Dad a lot of friends and the respect of the people that knew him
Dad was a cautious man. Always being aware of danger in any situation.
The only time I can remember him not thinking it out before he did something was we were in Yellowstone looking for fire wood which was scarce. He found this log and it was about 6 ft long. He took the log and struck it to the ground to break it in two. The log broke came back and took a chunk out of his chin. We had to search for urgent care he got 2 butterfly stitches.
He was a planner. Any project that he tackled he would sit down and plan it all out on paper. Going over it till he worked it all out.
But he also was easily distracted from the task at hand. He would be working on the tractor with Cecil and take off for a tool. Cecil would think wow where did he get off to with that tool? Cecil would go looking for him and find him in the garage working on a different project. This tendency drove his son and son-in-laws a little nuts.
Dad was compassionate and dutiful.
He helped his siblings take care of their elderly parents. Not shirking the duty off to his wife he took his turns feeding and bathing his parents. This made a real impression on me. I was able to understand the satisfaction and the sense of fulfillment given the opportunity to do that for him when Nancy went to stay with Clara after the birth of Makayla.
Dad attended so many funerals on the VFW ritual team for fellow veterans only God knows the number. Sometimes it would be three to four a week.
He felt a sense of duty to both his country and his family.
Dad told me several times "we are on this earth for one reason. To save our soul." I think I can safely say dad has accomplished his mission to save his soul.
Thank you! Theresa [Jones] Rose.
Notes:
Bernard is a Korean War Veteran.
Bernard worked for Ford Motor Co. in Monroe, MI. His family and the Younglove family were neighbors for 49 years. Death of his father terminated the long neighbor relation with this family but not the friendship it continues to grow.
By Ray Kisonas
Monroe News staff reporter
Posted May 31, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Updated at 9:04 AM
CARLETON — Step inside the tidy home of Nancy Jones on Carleton West Rd. and it’s like walking into a military museum.
Numerous photographs of servicemen and women in crisp uniforms adorn the walls. A large framed flag that flew over Iraq adorns another wall.
There’s also a shadowbox depicting an Army camp similar to one inhabited by Cpl. Bernard Jones during the Korean War.
And then there’s the main attraction. In its own special section of the room is the dedication to Cpl. Jones, proud Korean War veteran and Mrs. Jones’ husband, who died last August at 85. Built with replicated 155mm and 105mm Howitzer shells, the same type Cpl. Jones fired during the war, the memorial display was a surprise to Mrs. Jones on what would have been the couple’s 37th wedding anniversary.
“When I first saw it, I just broke down,” Mrs. Jones said. “It really got to me. He would have been so proud.”
A member of the 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Cpl. Jones fired shell after shell upon the enemy while serving in Korea from 1950 to 1953.
When he joined the Army, Cpl. Jones continued a family military tradition that dates back to the Civil War.
But if it was up to his father, Cpl. Jones would have never seen action.
A wounded veteran of World War I and the recipient of the Purple Heart, Dewain Jones tried to persuade his son to avoid the conflict. Another son, also named Dewain, served inWorldWar II.
“His dad didn’t want him to go,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was gonna take him to Canada.”
But the young man would have none of that Canada talk. He joined and endured frigid conditions and repeated blasts without ear protection.
He returned home and began a family. He later married the former Nancy Curley and together they raised a blended family of six. The daughter they had together, Clara, married Michael Pilarski, who is in the Navy. He came up with the idea to create the memorial, which includes a photo of Mr. Jones while in the Army, the medals he earned and an American flag, folded neatly and placed in a triangular military display case. The memorial also is equipped with a television screen that shows photographs of family members that scroll along to songs like “Proud To Be an American.”
“Bernie and Nancy had done so much for our servicemen and women that I wanted his display to reflect that,” Senior Chief Naval Aircrewman Pilarski said in an e-mail. “He was so proud to be a part of his gun crew and unit that I wanted to incorporate his shadow box into the design concept.” The memorial fits nicely in the room that includes members of the Curley family, who also have a long military history. Mrs. Jones’ father, Lavern Curley, was a Japanese prisoner of war forced to build a bridge in the jungles of Thailand, an event depicted in the 1957 movie “Bridge on the River Kwai.”
A framed letter from Mr. Curley during that time hangs on a wall in the mini-museum.
“Dear Family,” it reads. “Am prisoner of war and in good health. Hope all is well at home. Love, Your Son.”
Mrs. Jones said she and her husband began creating the military room long ago and kept adding family military photographs and other pieces, such as a ceremonial sword presented to Mr. Jones by Gen. George Armstrong Custer reenactor Steve Alexander.
“We started adding photos and kept going,” she said. “We just kept adding pictures.”
The Jones and Curley families have a long history of service. Mrs. Jones said four family members — two grandchildren, a son-in-law and a nephew — are still serving.
After his time in Korea, Mr. Jones continued to practice his patriotism through a lifetime of volunteering at Monroe Post 1138, Veterans of Foreign Wars, by attending 999th reunions and serving as treasurer of the World Wars Monument in Monroe.
He and Mrs. Jones also created the idea of placing flags on graves of fallen soldiers in local cemeteries every Memorial Day. “He never really stopped serving,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was so proud to help others who served and to be there for them. He was just a kind and loving man.”
Daughter Terri tribute to her dad at his funeral.
Good Morning:
Thank you for coming today to celebrate our father and Grandfather's life.
Several of us want to share our thoughts about Dad today and I get to go first because I am #1. That's what Dad called me being the first born.
Dad made friends easily and was truly interested in other people and their welfare.
We would go camping Dad would set up the camper and our site. Then Mom would start to fix something to eat. He would wander off, when dinner was done she would say "where did your dad go he knows I was making dinner." We would find him somewhere in the camp ground making friends with the other campers.
Dad and Nancy made their home a refuge for nephews, nieces and grandchildren as well as foster children. Giving these children a chance to have a stable home environment.
He told me everyone's circumstances in life is different and that you have to over look the bad and look for the good in everyone and Treat them with respect. This outlook made Dad a lot of friends and the respect of the people that knew him
Dad was a cautious man. Always being aware of danger in any situation.
The only time I can remember him not thinking it out before he did something was we were in Yellowstone looking for fire wood which was scarce. He found this log and it was about 6 ft long. He took the log and struck it to the ground to break it in two. The log broke came back and took a chunk out of his chin. We had to search for urgent care he got 2 butterfly stitches.
He was a planner. Any project that he tackled he would sit down and plan it all out on paper. Going over it till he worked it all out.
But he also was easily distracted from the task at hand. He would be working on the tractor with Cecil and take off for a tool. Cecil would think wow where did he get off to with that tool? Cecil would go looking for him and find him in the garage working on a different project. This tendency drove his son and son-in-laws a little nuts.
Dad was compassionate and dutiful.
He helped his siblings take care of their elderly parents. Not shirking the duty off to his wife he took his turns feeding and bathing his parents. This made a real impression on me. I was able to understand the satisfaction and the sense of fulfillment given the opportunity to do that for him when Nancy went to stay with Clara after the birth of Makayla.
Dad attended so many funerals on the VFW ritual team for fellow veterans only God knows the number. Sometimes it would be three to four a week.
He felt a sense of duty to both his country and his family.
Dad told me several times "we are on this earth for one reason. To save our soul." I think I can safely say dad has accomplished his mission to save his soul.
Thank you! Theresa [Jones] Rose.
Notes:
Bernard is a Korean War Veteran.
Bernard worked for Ford Motor Co. in Monroe, MI. His family and the Younglove family were neighbors for 49 years. Death of his father terminated the long neighbor relation with this family but not the friendship it continues to grow.
By Ray Kisonas
Monroe News staff reporter
Posted May 31, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Updated at 9:04 AM
CARLETON — Step inside the tidy home of Nancy Jones on Carleton West Rd. and it’s like walking into a military museum.
Numerous photographs of servicemen and women in crisp uniforms adorn the walls. A large framed flag that flew over Iraq adorns another wall.
There’s also a shadowbox depicting an Army camp similar to one inhabited by Cpl. Bernard Jones during the Korean War.
And then there’s the main attraction. In its own special section of the room is the dedication to Cpl. Jones, proud Korean War veteran and Mrs. Jones’ husband, who died last August at 85. Built with replicated 155mm and 105mm Howitzer shells, the same type Cpl. Jones fired during the war, the memorial display was a surprise to Mrs. Jones on what would have been the couple’s 37th wedding anniversary.
“When I first saw it, I just broke down,” Mrs. Jones said. “It really got to me. He would have been so proud.”
A member of the 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Cpl. Jones fired shell after shell upon the enemy while serving in Korea from 1950 to 1953.
When he joined the Army, Cpl. Jones continued a family military tradition that dates back to the Civil War.
But if it was up to his father, Cpl. Jones would have never seen action.
A wounded veteran of World War I and the recipient of the Purple Heart, Dewain Jones tried to persuade his son to avoid the conflict. Another son, also named Dewain, served inWorldWar II.
“His dad didn’t want him to go,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was gonna take him to Canada.”
But the young man would have none of that Canada talk. He joined and endured frigid conditions and repeated blasts without ear protection.
He returned home and began a family. He later married the former Nancy Curley and together they raised a blended family of six. The daughter they had together, Clara, married Michael Pilarski, who is in the Navy. He came up with the idea to create the memorial, which includes a photo of Mr. Jones while in the Army, the medals he earned and an American flag, folded neatly and placed in a triangular military display case. The memorial also is equipped with a television screen that shows photographs of family members that scroll along to songs like “Proud To Be an American.”
“Bernie and Nancy had done so much for our servicemen and women that I wanted his display to reflect that,” Senior Chief Naval Aircrewman Pilarski said in an e-mail. “He was so proud to be a part of his gun crew and unit that I wanted to incorporate his shadow box into the design concept.” The memorial fits nicely in the room that includes members of the Curley family, who also have a long military history. Mrs. Jones’ father, Lavern Curley, was a Japanese prisoner of war forced to build a bridge in the jungles of Thailand, an event depicted in the 1957 movie “Bridge on the River Kwai.”
A framed letter from Mr. Curley during that time hangs on a wall in the mini-museum.
“Dear Family,” it reads. “Am prisoner of war and in good health. Hope all is well at home. Love, Your Son.”
Mrs. Jones said she and her husband began creating the military room long ago and kept adding family military photographs and other pieces, such as a ceremonial sword presented to Mr. Jones by Gen. George Armstrong Custer reenactor Steve Alexander.
“We started adding photos and kept going,” she said. “We just kept adding pictures.”
The Jones and Curley families have a long history of service. Mrs. Jones said four family members — two grandchildren, a son-in-law and a nephew — are still serving.
After his time in Korea, Mr. Jones continued to practice his patriotism through a lifetime of volunteering at Monroe Post 1138, Veterans of Foreign Wars, by attending 999th reunions and serving as treasurer of the World Wars Monument in Monroe.
He and Mrs. Jones also created the idea of placing flags on graves of fallen soldiers in local cemeteries every Memorial Day. “He never really stopped serving,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was so proud to help others who served and to be there for them. He was just a kind and loving man.”
Good Morning:
Thank you for coming today to celebrate our father and Grandfather's life.
Several of us want to share our thoughts about Dad today and I get to go first because I am #1. That's what Dad called me being the first born.
Dad made friends easily and was truly interested in other people and their welfare.
We would go camping Dad would set up the camper and our site. Then Mom would start to fix something to eat. He would wander off, when dinner was done she would say "where did your dad go he knows I was making dinner." We would find him somewhere in the camp ground making friends with the other campers.
Dad and Nancy made their home a refuge for nephews, nieces and grandchildren as well as foster children. Giving these children a chance to have a stable home environment.
He told me everyone's circumstances in life is different and that you have to over look the bad and look for the good in everyone and Treat them with respect. This outlook made Dad a lot of friends and the respect of the people that knew him
Dad was a cautious man. Always being aware of danger in any situation.
The only time I can remember him not thinking it out before he did something was we were in Yellowstone looking for fire wood which was scarce. He found this log and it was about 6 ft long. He took the log and struck it to the ground to break it in two. The log broke came back and took a chunk out of his chin. We had to search for urgent care he got 2 butterfly stitches.
He was a planner. Any project that he tackled he would sit down and plan it all out on paper. Going over it till he worked it all out.
But he also was easily distracted from the task at hand. He would be working on the tractor with Cecil and take off for a tool. Cecil would think wow where did he get off to with that tool? Cecil would go looking for him and find him in the garage working on a different project. This tendency drove his son and son-in-laws a little nuts.
Dad was compassionate and dutiful.
He helped his siblings take care of their elderly parents. Not shirking the duty off to his wife he took his turns feeding and bathing his parents. This made a real impression on me. I was able to understand the satisfaction and the sense of fulfillment given the opportunity to do that for him when Nancy went to stay with Clara after the birth of Makayla.
Dad attended so many funerals on the VFW ritual team for fellow veterans only God knows the number. Sometimes it would be three to four a week.
He felt a sense of duty to both his country and his family.
Dad told me several times "we are on this earth for one reason. To save our soul." I think I can safely say dad has accomplished his mission to save his soul.
Thank you! Theresa [Jones] Rose.
Notes:
Bernard is a Korean War Veteran.
Bernard worked for Ford Motor Co. in Monroe, MI. His family and the Younglove family were neighbors for 49 years. Death of his father terminated the long neighbor relation with this family but not the friendship it continues to grow.
By Ray Kisonas
Monroe News staff reporter
Posted May 31, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Updated at 9:04 AM
CARLETON — Step inside the tidy home of Nancy Jones on Carleton West Rd. and it’s like walking into a military museum.
Numerous photographs of servicemen and women in crisp uniforms adorn the walls. A large framed flag that flew over Iraq adorns another wall.
There’s also a shadowbox depicting an Army camp similar to one inhabited by Cpl. Bernard Jones during the Korean War.
And then there’s the main attraction. In its own special section of the room is the dedication to Cpl. Jones, proud Korean War veteran and Mrs. Jones’ husband, who died last August at 85. Built with replicated 155mm and 105mm Howitzer shells, the same type Cpl. Jones fired during the war, the memorial display was a surprise to Mrs. Jones on what would have been the couple’s 37th wedding anniversary.
“When I first saw it, I just broke down,” Mrs. Jones said. “It really got to me. He would have been so proud.”
A member of the 999th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Cpl. Jones fired shell after shell upon the enemy while serving in Korea from 1950 to 1953.
When he joined the Army, Cpl. Jones continued a family military tradition that dates back to the Civil War.
But if it was up to his father, Cpl. Jones would have never seen action.
A wounded veteran of World War I and the recipient of the Purple Heart, Dewain Jones tried to persuade his son to avoid the conflict. Another son, also named Dewain, served inWorldWar II.
“His dad didn’t want him to go,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was gonna take him to Canada.”
But the young man would have none of that Canada talk. He joined and endured frigid conditions and repeated blasts without ear protection.
He returned home and began a family. He later married the former Nancy Curley and together they raised a blended family of six. The daughter they had together, Clara, married Michael Pilarski, who is in the Navy. He came up with the idea to create the memorial, which includes a photo of Mr. Jones while in the Army, the medals he earned and an American flag, folded neatly and placed in a triangular military display case. The memorial also is equipped with a television screen that shows photographs of family members that scroll along to songs like “Proud To Be an American.”
“Bernie and Nancy had done so much for our servicemen and women that I wanted his display to reflect that,” Senior Chief Naval Aircrewman Pilarski said in an e-mail. “He was so proud to be a part of his gun crew and unit that I wanted to incorporate his shadow box into the design concept.” The memorial fits nicely in the room that includes members of the Curley family, who also have a long military history. Mrs. Jones’ father, Lavern Curley, was a Japanese prisoner of war forced to build a bridge in the jungles of Thailand, an event depicted in the 1957 movie “Bridge on the River Kwai.”
A framed letter from Mr. Curley during that time hangs on a wall in the mini-museum.
“Dear Family,” it reads. “Am prisoner of war and in good health. Hope all is well at home. Love, Your Son.”
Mrs. Jones said she and her husband began creating the military room long ago and kept adding family military photographs and other pieces, such as a ceremonial sword presented to Mr. Jones by Gen. George Armstrong Custer reenactor Steve Alexander.
“We started adding photos and kept going,” she said. “We just kept adding pictures.”
The Jones and Curley families have a long history of service. Mrs. Jones said four family members — two grandchildren, a son-in-law and a nephew — are still serving.
After his time in Korea, Mr. Jones continued to practice his patriotism through a lifetime of volunteering at Monroe Post 1138, Veterans of Foreign Wars, by attending 999th reunions and serving as treasurer of the World Wars Monument in Monroe.
He and Mrs. Jones also created the idea of placing flags on graves of fallen soldiers in local cemeteries every Memorial Day. “He never really stopped serving,” Mrs. Jones said. “He was so proud to help others who served and to be there for them. He was just a kind and loving man.”
