Helen Jeffers Jones

Helen Jeffers Jones, a Fallbrook resident since 1949, gently and quietly passed away in her daughter’s arms on April 24, 2015. She was 94.

Helen had a zest for life. She was vivacious, adventuresome, nurturing, and compassionate. Having been born in Kansas in 1920, her family relocated from Ness City, Kans. to Denver, Colo. when she was 19. It was there that she captured the heart of Wilson Jones. After a short and romantic courtship, they were married in May, 1941. A short time later, Wilson received his commission as Ensign in the Navy and they relocated to San Francisco, Calif., where Helen saw the vast Pacific Ocean for the first time in her life.

Wilson and Helen wrote letters to each other daily during the entire two years he was stationed in England during World War II. After the war, they settled in Los Angeles, but were worried about the effect of the thick smog on the health of their two young children. In the late 1940’s, they decided to move to quiet, clean Fallbrook where the rest of their children were born and raised.

In addition to raising four children, they raised goats, chickens, and pigs. They also grew an abundance of semitropical fruit trees: mango, jujube, sapote, pomegranate, cherimoya, pineapple guava, and carob bean, just to name a few. They rehabilitated several acres, created a small lake, and created a resort-like paradise out of degraded farmland.

Helen was involved in the Fallbrook Chapter of the Eastern Star, the Fallbrook United Methodist Church, and the Fallbrook Women’s Democratic Club. She was an artist and was a round dance instructor for many years, clear up into her 80’s. She ran several 5K’s when in her 80’s and always placed, even running faster than the 60-70 year-olds.

She was never too old to learn something new. She took her first ski lessons at the age of 82. Also in her 80’s, she took up archery, pool, and sailing, which she described as "95 percent

boredom and 5 percent sheer terror."

Helen had an amazing sense of humor, and was good-natured and jovial right up to the end. Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Wilson Burdette Jones, in 2000. She is survived by her children; Jeffrey Jones, Jeremy (Jera) Jones Igo, Kerry Jones, and Kasey Jonesrebandt; nine grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren with two more on the way.

A memorial service will take place at the lake on the family property off of Alvarado on Saturday, June 13 at 11 a.m. Donations can be made in her name to The Fallbrook Adult Day Care, P.O. Box 2155, Fallbrook, CA 92088.