JAMES H. JONES
James H. Jones, of Lodi, passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on January 27, 2021. He was 75 years old. He was born October 12, 1945 in Murfreesboro, AR to Henry (Hoss) and Oleda Jones. Due to his father’s work, they moved frequently and finally settled in Tracy, California. It was there that the pretty blonde girl stepped off of the school bus and he knew that one day he was going to make her his wife. He graduated from Tracy High School in 1963, San Joaquin Delta College in 1965 and joined the Electrical Apprenticeship Program.
Jim joined the Army in April of 1966 and on June 12, 1966 he married that pretty blonde girl, Gwyn Fisher, his high school sweetheart. After his training in Fort Ord, Gwyn followed him to Germany where they made several lifelong friends and traveled to several countries. They returned to the states in March of 1968 and Jim resumed his electrical apprenticeship program. (He proudly received his 55 Year Service Award Pin from the IBEW, shortly before his passing). It was then that they started their family.
His first coaching experience was when he was “volun-told” by his superior officer to coach the dependent baseball team in Germany. Little did he know that this would be the beginning of an extensive adoration for youth sports in Lodi. He coached softball, soccer and basketball for his children and grandchildren. He was a dedicated scorekeeper and fan for all of his kids and grandkids. He was an Executive Board member for the Booster of Boys/Girls Sports for 20 years. During this time, he made lasting friendships with everyone who knew him.
Jim and Gwyn followed all of their grandkids throughout all of their sporting adventures and other activities. They not only watched locally but across the United States. He was honored to be known as Grandpa Jim to everyone that knew him, young and old.
You would often see Grandpa entering the sport complexes, pushing his cart with his diet coke hanging from the side. His source of exercise and hobby was walking around with his pick-up stick collecting pull tabs. This quickly became an obsession that turned into a competition for the entire family. Family and friends all joined in, and began collecting tabs also. He would sit down and count every single tab, sorted by who gave them to him, and separated them by color. At the end of the year, Jim would take multiple five-gallon buckets full and donate them to the Ronald McDonald House in Sacramento. This will carry on in our family, as a tradition in his honor, for years to come.
Jim leaves behind his wife Gwyn, of 54 years; his daughter, Deanna (Martin) Gonzalez and grandchildren, Acacia (Zach), Alyx (Ryan), Luci, Jamee, Haylee, Alexx and Michael; his son, Jeremy (Becky) Jones and grandchildren, Morgan, Stevie, JD, Anthony (Sitlaly), Nicole, Hector (Brittney), and Julia. His five great grandchildren, Kayden, Blakely, Anthony, Charlie and Graham were his pride and joy. Jim is also survived by his brother, John Jones; sister, Sandy Jones; and former sister-inlaw, Marlene Jones.
At Jim’s request, there will be no funeral service. We will be planning a Celebration of Life at a later date. What Jim wanted was to have a large softball game to include all of his past players, grandchildren, honorary grandchildren, and anyone else whose life he touched. This will be dependent on the current restrictions due to COVID19.
Please sign the guest book at www.lodinews.com/ guestbook.