Petes superfan has Roger on her tomb

An “ultimate fan” of the Peterborough Petes was laid to rest Monday.

Florence Jones died at Fairhaven on Sept. 12. She was 87.

Her funeral was at the Salvation Army Temple, with her family wearing Petes jerseys for the service. She’s buried in Emily Cemetery.

Mrs. Jones was born and raised in Peterborough, attending Queen Elizabeth Public School.

She held season tickets to the Petes for 20 years, from 1995 to 2015.

“She just loved her Peterborough Petes — she took a real shine to them,” said her daughter, Doreen Jones.

Mrs. Jones jumped on the Petes bandwagon in 1995 after her second husband died.

She never missed a home game and even hopped on the Petes fan bus about a dozen times to travel to out-of-town games.

As an only child, and with only one child of her own, the Petes and the Memorial Centre staff became like a second family to Mrs. Jones.

“All the ushers and staff were wonderful with mom.”

Her daughter said she believes her mother will be remembered

at the rink for her commitment to the team.

“She’ll be remembered as being faithful to the Petes. She’ll be remembered as being as dedicated,” Jones said.

Mrs. Jones’s declining health ended her season ticket-holder days in 2015.

That didn’t mean her love for them died, though.

She kept all five of her Petes jerseys, her Roger (Petes mascot) stuffy, and even asked her daughter if the Petes could be her pallbearers.

Knowing that wasn’t an option, Jones said the family wore Petes jerseys to the funeral instead.

“I know she was up there smiling down from heaven, because that’s what she wanted.”

Mrs. Jones was buried with her Rogers stuffy.

Her tombstone is still in the works and will highlight her love of Peterborough’s hockey team.

“Peterborough Petes Ultimate Fan” is at the top of the headstone and two hockey sticks and a puck adorn one corner, with an image of Roger on the other.

At the Petes home opener Thursday, Mrs. Jones name was announced as one of the Petes fans who’d recently passed.

Jones and her daughter Tina Hepburn were there.

“It was a nice tribute, she would have been very pleased,” Jones said.

But that wasn’t the only tribute in Mrs. Jones’ honour.

When Jones and Hepburn were cleaning out Mrs. Jones’ room, Hepburn came across a burgundy bag. Inside was a large brass bell with a wooden handle and a red bra.

Hepburn asker her mom what the bra was about.

Her granddaughter was in disbelief when she heard her grandma used to swing the bra around and ring the bell when the Petes scored.

Yet when it was time for the game on Thursday, Hepburn and Jones brought the items along.

“We took the bell and the red bra for one last time in memory of mom,” Jones said.