Catherine E. Jones • 1915 - 2009

Catherine E. Jones, whose father was an owner and major force of The Minot Daily News, died Friday, March 6, 2009, in her home. She was 93 years old and had been living at Somerset Court in recent years.

She was born Sept. 17, 1915, in Devils Lake, ND, a daughter of Hal S. and Mary (Fitzsimmons) Davies. The family lived in Fargo, ND, for a brief period before moving to Minot in 1920. She was raised in Minot and graduated from Minot High School in 1933. She attended St. Catherine College in St. Paul, MN, for two years before switching to the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks and graduating from there in 1938. She went on to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, for graduate study in social work, a field in which she worked for close to 40 years.

She was employed at a children's agency in Minneapolis before marrying Clarence Gordon Jones on Sept. 3, 1940, in Minot. They lived in Brownton and Hutchinson, MN, where he practiced law. While he was in military service during World War II, she worked at a children's agency in Omaha, NE. They returned to live in Minnesota after his discharge. Following his death on Jan. 30, 1950, she came back to Minot and started her life over again as a young widow with two children to raise.

She resumed her career in social service with the Ward County Department of Social Services, working with children and youth beginning in 1953 and continuing there
until 1968. Then she went to work at the Oppen Family Guidance Institute, remaining there until her retirement in 1983. She continued to serve on the board at the institute until her death.

She also served as corporate treasurer and board member of The News until it was sold by the Davies and Dobson families in 1985. She was a member of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, Minot, and a former member of the Minot Country Club.

Catherine Jones was best known as Coke-a nickname she acquired early in her life. "Coke" fit her and her sense of style. When The Cameo Room, a clothing store for women, was in business in downtown Minot, she often was seen there, a petite woman wearing Cameo's clothes with intelligence and class.

As a younger woman, she frequently rode horses in company with her father. After retirement, she traveled, and in time, she wintered for 20 years in Coronado, CA, drawn there by the ocean and the sunsets. She was a great reader, and she reveled in the lives of her grandchildren who were raised in Minot.

Surviving: daughter, Kathleen (Shan) Cunningham, and son, Patrick (Mary Kay) Jones, all of Minot; grandchildren, Barbara (Paul) Boesl, Chris Jones, Erick (Suzanne) Jones and Matt (Jen) Jones; great-grandchildren, Justin and Ryan Boesl, and Ethan and Ruthanne Jones; stepbrother, James (Lois) Hamilton, Lake Metigoshe, ND.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents and a brother, Hugh Davies.

Funeral: Mass of Christian Burial, Tuesday, March 10, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church.

Interment: Rosehill Memorial Park Minot.

Visitation and Vigil Prayer Service: Monday from noon to 7 p.m. with the prayer service at 7 p.m. at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Minot Catholic Schools Foundation or to the Minot Family YMCA.

Service Participants
Father David Zimmer - Celebrant of the Liturgies
Monsignor Tim McGee - Concelebrant
Deacon Chuck Kramer - Vigil Prayer Service
Barb Boesl and Monsignor Tim McGee - Readers
Justin and Ryan Boesl, Ethan and Ruthanne Jones - Gift Bearers

Music
Processional Hymn: “Here I Am Lord”
Offertory Hymn: “Hail Mary, Gentle Women”
Communion Hymn: “I Am The Bread of Life”
Commendation: “Song of Farewell”
Recessional Hymn: “On Eagle’s Wings”
Kari Andersen, Vocalist/Song Leader
Jeanne Artz, Organist

Honorary Bearers: Catherine’s family and friends

Active Bearers: Paul Boesl,  Chris Jones, Erick Jones, Matt Jones

Following the graveside service, please join the family for a time of fellowship and lunch at the Knights of Columbus, located at 2601 N. Broadway.  

Our family would like to thank all of you for your many acts of kindness. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated during this difficult time. May God bless the memory of Catherine.

To sign the online guest register for Catherine
To view the online guest regsiter for Catherine

To view the outside of Catherine's folder
To view the inside of Catherine's folder

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