Eleanor Illston Jones, 93, of Worthington, Ohio died August 21, 2018. She was born in Ithaca, New York on November 6, 1924, the daughter of the late Cady P. Illston and Laura Buck Illston. She is survived by three sons: David (Joyce) Jones of Columbus, Matt Jones and Peter (Jenny) Jones of Worthington; two daughters: Annie (Adrian) Bennett of Columbus and Amy Jones of Arlington, VA; and by a large extended family. She was preceded in death by her son Evan Jones of Worthington.
She was proud of her professional accomplishments. At the Harding Hospital and the Harding-Evans Foundation she worked to educate the community about mental illness, enhance the hospital’s relationship with the community and raise funds to build multiple buildings on the Harding campus. She was a Fellow of the National Association for Hospital Development, member of the Ohio Association for Hospital Development and served on the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce.
Her volunteer contributions to the community were many. She founded and was first president of Tele-Mom, a support organization for mothers; was instrumental in the development of the Worthington Martin Luther King celebration and was a member and chair of the Worthington Community Relations Commission. Her far ranging interests included a love of cars. A long-time member of the Sports Car Club of America, she reveled in attending and working the races at Mid Ohio. Her many contributions to the community were recognized with a tree planted in her honor on the Worthington Green.
The church has always been an important part of her life. She grew up in the church in Ithaca and while living in Kansas for 16 years, she partnered with her husband to nurture a small church in Rossville, KS. And she loved the Worthington Church –worshiping there, seeing it grow over time, serving as a Stephen Minister, serving on many committees, and working in the office. The music program gave her enormous pleasure and renewal.
But she said her most important and rewarding roles were in the family. She was a Mom to six, and proudly had nine grandchildren (Ruth, Paul, Amy, Adam, Katherine, Michael, Matthew, Regan and Kirsten), nine great grandchildren (Sarah, Rebecca, Chance, Andrew, Allisin, Tyler, Sydney, Isabella and Josey) and two great-great grandchildren (Henry and Oliver). Her joy was hosting and cooking for large family gatherings and being surrounded by the generations.
In addition to the official clan, “family” included many others. Adults and children alike knew that Franklin Court was a “safe house” where respite could be had and where a dose of comfort or tough love would be dispensed as needed.
She shared her wisdom freely, but gently. Posted on her refrigerator were her Four Steps to a Good Life:
- Pay attention
- Count your blessings
- Be responsible for the space you take up
- Do something for others
Like everyone, she had losses and disappointments. When she reflected on those hard times she often quoted two sources that gave her strength and perspective. For strength she looked to her faith and often quoted Phillipians “…for I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content … I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
For perspective she looked to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She often described her life in the same way Dorothy described Oz upon her return: “Some of it was not very nice, but most of it was beautiful.” Hers was a beautiful life.
Services will be held at the Worthington United Methodist Church, 600 High Street in Worthington on Monday, August 27 at 2:00 pm. Opportunities to visit with the family at the church will be from 4:00 to 6:00 pm on Sunday, August 26 and one hour preceding the Monday service.
For those who would like to do so, the family suggests donations in her name to the Worthington United Methodist Church, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Ithaca, NY) or a charity that has meaning for the giver.
Eleanor's husband, Don Jones, was pastor of the Rossville Methodist Church for 16 years and several of their children graduated from RHS.
