Charles O. Jones died Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in Swedish Hospital in Denver.
He was born to Harold and Marguerite Jones on Jan. 12, 1942, in Canon City, moving to Las Animas a few years later. He attended area schools including Woodrow and Melonfield and graduated from Las Animas High School in 1959.
After a short stint on the Ralph Queen Ranch, he attended undergraduate school at Lamar Community College. On June 9, 1963, he married Ruby Hutchinson and the couple resided in Fort Collins while he finished his bachelor of science degree from Colorado State University in1966. After teaching a year in the vocational agriculture program at Joes, Colo., the couple purchased the farm on Highway 194 where he ran a successful farm-/ranch operation until his death. Throughout most of those years, he taught woodshop to hundreds of students at both Las Animas Junior High and High School completing a 31-year teaching career when he retired in 1997. For several years, he headed the junior high pack trip where groups of 20-30 seventh and eighth grade students went with him to the mountains each May on a four-day backpacking trip to learn wilderness survival and backpacking skills.
Charlie’s passion for teaching, whether in the classroom, in the arena, or in everyday life has been apparent by the many messages from former students who tell of the impact he made on their lives. He loved the sport of rodeo, and in his collegiate years, he was as successful calf roper and bull rider, winning the regional Intercollegiate Bull Riding Championship in 1997 followed by many years as an avid team roper. Throughout his lifetime, he delighted in training horses and later mules, and he will be remembered for his hand-made red wagon and team of mules in many local parades. His enthusiasm for outdoor life including fishing and hunting upland bird and big game was particularly evident with the adventures he provided when taking his string of pack mules to the mountains with family and friends.
Charlie is survived by his wife; his mother, Marguerite Jones of Wiley; daughter, Kelly Sue Ballard, son-in-law, Curtis, grandchildren, Jonathan and Rachael all of Eaton; son, K.C. Jones, daughter-in-law, Gayle of Decatur, Texas; brother Darrell Jones and his wife Rosi, of Wiley; niece, Cyndi Delaney and family of Strasburg; nephew, B.J. Jones and family of Wiley; nephew, Lance Jones of Denver; sister-in-law, Sue Willburn of Ketchikan, Alaska; nephew, Scott Willburn and family of Craig, Alaska; niece, Nancy Osborne of Ketchikan, Alaska; and nephew, Terry Willburn and wife Carol of Thorne Bay, Alaska, and a multitude of family members, rodeo friends, hunting and fishing buddies, former students, the Class of 1959 and community friends.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 at the First Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in the Las Animas Cemetery with Horber Funeral Chapel in charge of arrangements.
A memorial fund has been set up at the First National Bank of Las Animas, P.O. Box 270, Las Animas, CO 81054 and the family will make contributions to several worthy causes. Food contributions will be received at the kitchen door of the St. Mary’s Catholic School between 1 and 3 p.m. on Thursday. All friends and family are invited to the school for a celebration meal immediately following internment at the cemetery.
