Zona Jones, 88

March 5, 1933 —

July 4, 2021

 

GRINNELL - Zona M. Jones, age 88, of Grinnell, Iowa went to her heavenly home on Sunday, July 4, 2021. She had made her home at the Mayflower Assisted Living in Grinnell since 2013 and was moved to the Mayflower Health Center in February.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 8, 2021 at the Cresco Community Chapel in Cresco, Iowa at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held at Lindstrom Funeral Home in Cresco on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 from 5-7 p.m. and again one hour before services at the church. Burial will be at Chester Hill Cemetery in rural Chester, Iowa. Lindstrom Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.  

Zona Mae Perry was born on March 5, 1933 in Riceville, Iowa to James and Myrtle (Aulwes) Perry. She attended rural schools until high school, when she moved in with her grandparents and enrolled in LeRoy (Minn.) High School and graduated in May 1951. She met Walter Jones, the love of her life, at a dance. They were married on Dec. 24, 1950 at the Baptist Church in LeRoy, while he was home on a pass from the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. 

Their first home was across the street from the park in LeRoy, where they welcomed their first three children Linda, David and Rhonda. In 1958, Walter was transferred to Cresco by the Central Iowa Telephone Company, so the family moved to their next home, across the street from Kessel Park in Cresco. Two more children, Brenda and James, were born there.

During the first period of time living in Cresco, the couple were among the founders of Cresco Community Chapel. Zona spent most of her time with her children but did work for a couple years as a bookkeeper at the Northern Iowa Oil Company. 

In 1979, the family moved to Grinnell when Walter was transferred to teach in the telephone training school. In 2002, they moved back to Cresco. A few years after Walter’s death, Zona and her family agreed she was in need of assisted living, so she moved to Mayflower.

Zona’s love of the written word began when her father would recite poems from memory from his school days. She was proud to compete at the Minnesota state spelling bee while in school. For a number of years, she was a member of the Pen Women’s Club of Iowa and published a number of poems and short stories through the organization. Her greatest literary achievement was the Aulwes family history book she wrote that combined her love of genealogy and writing. She also published a book about LeRoy.

Zona had a competitive side to her nature. Whether it was challenging her sister to who could lose the most weight, or getting a blue ribbon for china painting at the fair  or beating her daughters, relatives and friends at Scrabble or Quiddler or being crowned the Canasta queen, she liked to win. Although she knew how to be a good loser, she had a hard time being a gracious winner. She loved to play games with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Zona is survived by her children, Linda (Phil) Conn of Robins, Iowa, David (Karen) Jones of Decorah Iowa, Rhonda (Dennis) Vobr of Cresco and Brenda (Dan) O’Halloran and James (Angie) Jones of Grinnell. She was the proud grandmother of 10 grandchildren, Amy (Joel) Nesset, Heidi (Chad) Dahlem, Adam (Lisa) Conn, Sara (Trevor) Thomas, Ethan (fiancé Nicole) Jones, Michelle (Duane) Tlusty, Brian (Melanie) Vobr, Joshua O’Halloran, Brandon (Rachel) O’Halloran and Jason (Lindsay) O’Halloran and 26 great-grandchildren and step-grandchildren, Isaac and Abigail Nesset, Sam, Eli and Caroline Dahlem, Landon, Owen, Easton and Raelyn Conn, Mason and Dylan Thomas, Tanner, Tucker, Madelynn and Derek Tlusty, Isabella, Bailey and Parker Vobr, Annaliese, Aria, Alex, Alaina and Aislinn O’Halloran and Tessa, Quinton and Blain O’Halloran. Her younger sister, Joan (Kent) Boisen; sister-in-law, Darlyne Perry; Walter’s brother, Roger Jones; as well as nieces and nephews also survive.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter in 2004; her parents, James and Myrtle Perry; her brother, Wayne Perry; and her sister Irene (Lyle) Schutte.