Cyrus F. Jones: 1916 - 2005

My grandfather passed away on Thursday, so I expect I will not be able to update the blog much over the next week or so. There will be a few things we'll need to take care of before the service on Saturday. His death was a blessing in some respects, as the great man he once was had slipped away almost completely over the past few years through Alzheimer's. I'll post some of my thoughts on the man he was and the disease he struggled with sometime over the next few days. For now, I leave you with his obituary, as printed in today's Herald-Mail:

Cyrus Francis Jones, age 88, of 254 Potomac Heights, Hagerstown, Md., died Jan. 27, 2005, at Avalon Manor Health Care Center following an illness of Alzheimer's disease.

Mr. Jones was born Dec. 12, 1916, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the son of the late Howard and Bessie Applegate Jones.

He was raised in Baltimore, Md., and graduated from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in 1939.

He is the former owner and pharmacist of Schindel's Pharmacy, retiring in December 1981.

He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a first lieutenant during WWII.

He was a founding member and lifetime member of Antietam Radio Relay Association (W3EHA). He was a member of Fountain Head Country Club, Exchange Club, Potomac Playmakers, Morris Frock American Legion Post 42 and Hagerstown Community Concert Association.

Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Joanne W. Jones; two daughters, Nancy Mayfield and husband, Richard, of Elkton, Md., and Priscilla Bernhold and husband, Terry, of London, Ky; one brother, the Rev. Kenneth S. Jones, and wife, Larocca, of Gaithersburg, Md. Other survivors are three stepsons, John "Buck" McCoy and wife, Cynthia, Donald McCoy and wife, Gina, and Timothy McCoy and wife, Anne-Marie, all of Hagerstown; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service at Douglas A. Fiery Funeral Home, 1331 Eastern Blvd. N. Hagerstown, on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005, at 2 p.m. Family will receive friends following the service at the funeral home.

Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association of Western Maryland.