Birth date: Aug 1, 1944 Death date: Nov 25, 2016
James M. Jones, “The Reel Man”, 72, veteran, passed away Friday, November 25, 2016 following complications from chemotherapy. He was born August 1, 1944 in Lawrence, Kansas to James and Juanita Jones who have both predeceased him. Read Obituary
Jim As I stand at your grave I can’t believe it’s been 1 year since you passed away. There is not a day that I do not think of you and miss you so much. I’ll always love you and hold dear the memories I have of you. My husband and best friend forever. Love, Carolyn
Happy Birthday sweetheart. You are forever on my mind and in my heart. Your love holds me together. I love and miss you so much.
Happy Heavenly birthday Jim.
Jim Memorial Day has come and gone and family and friends all shared their memories on your Celebration of Life held on May 26, 2017. It was a beautiful ceremony on a stunning day. We hoisted your flag for the first time and it will be flown on every Memorial Day in the future. You would be so proud of your son Rob and granddaughter Skye in helping me put together the memorial on your behalf. I miss you so much and will never stop loving or forget you. You have given me the strength to carry on. Rest In Peace my love until we meet again. Carolyn Jones
I'm so sad to hear about Jim passing. What an amazing guy he was! I worked at Lowrance for 23 years and while he was at OkieBug we became great friends working in the same interest" Fishing"🎣🎣He also repaired many reels for me and you just could not find a better guy! RIP JIM! See you in the Glory Land someday and perhaps we will be fishing there! Much Love and prayers to family, please let me know if there is anything I can do🙏🙏💕
Jim aid I and Ray Baker ran long and hard in high school but we never got caught well maybe once or twice. He was a good friend and we had some great adventures. We lost track for 40 plus years but I had the opportunity to speak with him before the move to OK. Rest in peace good friend. HB Weeks Leavenworth.
So sorry for your loss, he was a great person and a wonderful school mate. always enjoyed his smile and friendly personality. He will,be greatly missed by all who knew him. Trudy Parsons Skaggs
It is difficult for me to gather the words to properly express how I feel about the passing of my friend and neighbor Jim Jones.Jim was not the pious, perfectly-proper, personality type…not the kind of guy who always wants to be PERCEIVED as a good neighbor. Jim simply WAS a good neighbor, without all the window-dressing. To be certain, he and his sometimes crude exterior were hard for some people to get to know. He was more likely to address you in a crass manner, as he greeted you coming or going. In fact, between Jim and I, it became a challenge to see who could be the more vulgar and offensive…but always with a grin and in good nature. Jim was definitely not the warm, cuddly type. Probably his time in Viet Nam as a combat chopper pilot took its toll and left him somewhat jaded. Lord knows that daily life and death experience destroyed many a lesser man. To say the least, he survived life in it s most primal form. Jim was a man's man in every respect. But, that brusque exterior was largely bluster, and when you got to know him you could see, underneath it all, he was really a good guy.Over the last several years Jim was largely confined to home due to an injury. But, that didn't keep him from being a watchful sentinel in our neighborhood. He frequently had his garage door open and / or was always piddling around in plain sight for all to see. He knew everything going on around him. More important to the overall security of our neighborhood, Jim was visible to all strangers driving or walking through the area… casing the neighborhood…and if someone stopped in your driveway, or approached your door, or he spotted an open door, he would investigate. And, while I suppose some people may have viewed him as a busy-body, there is no way to know how many burglaries, acts of vandalism, etc. were avoided, simply by his presence and watchful eye. He made a difference…and he never sought a moment of recognition or credit. In short, Jim was the real deal and you couldn't have asked for a better neighbor!Jim, I don't know where you're going from here, but I'm quite confident you will have it all scoped-out by the time I get there. God-speed Jim Jones, and rest assured, you made this world a better place and we're gonna miss you, my friend.Whit Farish
I remember taking my busted up reels to Okiebug when Jim would look up from what ever he was working on at the time and politely say, "So what have you done this time?" He was an icon for serious fishermen in the Green Country area. I can't remember how many times I stepped up to that window to entrust "my little darlings" to the man behind that counter that always cared to hear my stories about catching fish. His work was always spot on and fair priced. After my dad passed away Jim kept an old Shimano Calcuta alive that was my dad's favorite reel for top water.After about 20 years I still kept taking my precious 'girls" to Jim as he operated from his home front with the same precision and timely doctoring. One day as I came by I mentioned that I had sold my Z21 Ranger and was looking for a boat. The next time I came to see Jim he offered up his prize Bass Cat Pantera II if I was interested. I ended up buying his little jewel and of course it was engineered and cared for just as well as he cared for everyone he met. I was honored to fish out of it and I have had many people comment that the boat was in such great shape.As Jim's health started to fade I was able to take him fishing in his boat last summer at 5 Oaks Ranch thanks to my friend Randy Imel. It was a perfect set up as I was able to launch the boat and pick him up at the dock and he could stepped on the back deck with ease. He was quiet for the first 10 mins which was not like him. He was taking it in….remembering all of the wonderful times he had experienced in that boat. We caught about 30 bass in a couple of hours before the sun beat us up. I think it might have been his last fishing trip.I am honored to have known the reel man and considered him a legend. A REAL man who knew how to work hard, play hard and be a friend to all those who crossed his path. Oh yeah he was a pretty salty fisherman as well. I will miss our lengthy chats about our adventures and good fortunes and as always his… "so what have you done this time?" You will be missed. God Bless you my friend.
As I approach my first Christmas and holiday season without your presence, I must take time to reminisce on memories of Christmases past. I was "into the holidays" and you tolerated my enthusiasm and joy. I can remember you telling me "if you take all that stuff out of storage and put it up, you're going to have to take it down and put it away", You watched me with disbelief and when all was done, you enjoyed the lights and sounds of the holidays, even though you never said so. You were just like my Dad. You never exclaimed how beautiful everything looked but I could see it in your eyes that you enjoyed it. And yes, everything I put up, I took down and stored away each year.We had so many wonderful memories over our 36 years of marriage and I will cherish them forever. I'll never forget you or stop loving you. I miss you so much. It's always been you. Now, always and forever. I love you Jim. Merry Christmas, Carolyn
