Percy Joseph Patrick Jones, 88, passed away on Wednesday February 5, 2020 at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, BC, following a heart attack.
He is pre-deceased by his wife, Patricia (nee McNabb), his brother Elmer and his parents Patrick and Eva (nee Mallet). He leaves behind his brother Marvin and three sisters and brothers-in-law, Cheryl & Syd Bowman, Phyllis & Gerry Norman, and Mona & Lester Woodworth; his daughter Faith St. John and son-in-law Allen St. John, his son Vernon Jones and daughter-in-law Karen Bazylewski; his grandchildren Adam & Kathryn St. John, Matthew & Tania St. John, Emma St. John, Erin, Kate and Brittany Puckey; and seven great-grandchildren, Alyssa, Vanessa, Kiara and Preston St. John, Rhys and Mason Gallacher, and Milo Thomson.
Percy grew up in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. At 19 he joined the Navy and served for five years. From there he joined the Department of National Defence where he worked as a civilian radio operator at C.F.B. Leitram. During the Cold War his job was to intercept morse code messages going to and coming from Cuba. Before retiring from the Public Service in 1986 he also worked for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Communications Security Establishment.
The year Percy turned 80 was a very special one for him: he won the regional Scrabble Tournament that year - he’s currently ranked 917 by the North American Scrabble Players Association. His twice-weekly games with his close friend of more than 40 years, Dan Beausoleil, honed both his Scrabble skills and his competitive nature. He also came in first place in the handicapping contest at the Rideau Carleton Raceway where he’s been a regular horse racing fan for most of his adult life. Anyone who talked with him would soon learn that he was a big Elvis fan. To celebrate his milestone birthday that year, he and his family took a very special trip to Memphis and visited the place every die-hard Elvis fan wants to see - Graceland.
Surprisingly though, his favourite song is not by Elvis. It’s a Tina Turner song “Simply the Best” and it describes Percy perfectly.
An open house celebration of Percy's life will be held from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Kearney Columbia-Bowell reception lounge, 219 Sixth St. New Westminster on Thursday, February 20th. Interment will be held at the Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa in the Spring of 2020 -- date to be announced.
Percy’s other love was baseball, and he spent many happy years coaching Little League in Overbrook (Ottawa). With that in mind, we ask that In lieu of flowers, donations be made to Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart program, which provides financial support to kids in need so that they can participate in organized sports. Donations can be directed specifically to the Overbrook Chapter by writing that into the comment section online, or in the memo section of a cheque.
Little League in Overbrook & Shippagan, NB