CECELIA JONES

Perne Cecelia Jones, 65 of St. Michael, ND passed away early Saturday morning, March 29, 2014 at Mercy Hospital with loving family at her side.    The Wake and Prayer Service for Cecelia will be held at St. Michael’s Recreation Center, St. Michael, ND on Sunday, April 6, 2014 beginning at 5:00 p.m. with a Rosary and Scripture Service at 8:00 p.m.  The procession to St. Michael’s Recreation Center will leave at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday from Wal-Mart.    Mass of the Resurrection will be on Monday, April 7th at 10:00 a.m. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church with Fr. Brian Moen celebrating the Mass, assisted by Deacon Tony McDonald.  Cecelia will be laid to rest in St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery in the spring.  Music will be provided by Tony and Vina McDonald, and the Rhythm Riders.   Cecelia was born December 22, 1948, in Devils Lake, to Moses and Clara (Belgarde) Feather Mazakohomni.  She was raised in the St. Michael area and attended Little Flower Elementary School, Maddock High School and United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck.   In 1968, Cecelia married the love of her life Nathan “Buck” Jones Sr.  Together they had five children and adopted two more sons.   After relocating in 1969 to Chicago, where her husband went to Trade School, they together returned to the Spirit Lake Nation for a few years until 1975 when they moved to Garden Grove, California with the relocation program.  They returned to North Dakota in 1989, moving their family to United Tribes in Bismarck where Cecilia graduated and received her certificate in Food Service.  She moved the family back to St. Michael in May 1990 where they have made their home since and raised their children and grandchildren.   Cecelia worked various jobs throughout the years.  She was a Dispatcher for the Ft. Totten Police Department, an aide at St. Jude’s Home for the Elderly.  She also worked for the Tribal Group Home and at the Ranch Steak House in Devils Lake.  Cecelia also was a driver for the CHR program, a licensed foster parent for the Spirit Lake Tribe and was a cook at the Four Winds School for a number of years.  Her main job that she loved the most was being a wife, homemaker, mother and grandmother to her husband, children, grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews who she took in and raised like her own. Cecilia and Nathan always had a lot of kids in their home.  She loved taking care of “everyone”.   In her early years, she liked to play Bingo, crochet and bead with her husband.  They traveled with their children to many Pow Wows across the United States and Canada.  In their later years, Cecelia and Nathan just loved being grandparents.  They were knows and Kunsh and Pops.  Their greatest pleasure was spending time with their grandchildren, raising four of them as their own.   Cecelia was always there to help someone in need and was always there for anyone to talk to or cry to and had advice for everyone.  She was a very loving mother, grandmother and aunt and also raised and treated a number of her nieces and nephews as her own.  She had a very big heart when it came to her family.  She was a very strong spirited person, although she couldn’t attend church as much as she would have liked, she was very faithful to her Catholic religion and always had a prayer for everyone.  She taught her grandchildren to pray as soon as they could talk and she said the rosary every night before going to sleep. When ill health prevented her from going out visiting family, she loved to talk on her phone, especially with her cousins “Wiggs” and Sonta.  When she wasn’t on the phone, she loved watching the cooking channel or listening to her favorite singers, George Jones and Loretta Lynn. Although it saddens us all very deeply, and we will all miss her very much, we are thankful for the years she blessed us with and we all know Cecelia is very happy now, reunited with her husband of 41 years, who we all know she loved and missed very, very much.  Cecelia was the rock of our family and will be greatly missed by all whose hearts she touched.   Active Casket Bearers for Cecelia will be Nathan “Baby Buck” Jones Jr., Curtis “Smokey” Jones, Lydell Jones, Kermit Demarce, August “Tobey” Jones, Trevor Jones, Ira Jones, Oscar Feather, Sheldon Black and Raymond Windyboy.   Honorary bears are Dr. Jackie Downs, Debra and William Cavanaugh, Loreen and Rena Anderson, Sonta and Dean Dauphinais, Verle Greywater, Mary Cavanaugh, Carol Black, Lavonne Feather, Frank and Mary Love Joy, Tia and Randy Miller, Yvonne Thompson, Corrine Brown, Claudette Ross, Carl Merrick, Sam Merrick, Kelly Stone, James and Kathy Yankton, Kenny and Florestine Dunn, Roger Yankton, Chad and Lacy Driver, Pauline Greywater, Delemma Greywater, Renae Lenoir, Bimbo Lenior, Jeanie and Louie Chaske, Scott Black, Loren Fox, Vincent and Velva Greyhorn, Clarice and Josie Lawrance, Glen Abraham, Diondra Waanatan, Kenneth Greywater, Marilyn Thompson and Macy Laundreaux.  If we forgot to mention anyone it was not intentional, we apologize.   Cecelia is survived by her sons, Nathan “Baby Buck” (Geraldine) Jones Jr., Curtis “Smokey” (Jesse) Jones, Lydell Jones, Kermit Demarce, all of St. Michael; daughters, Shannon (Courtney) Jones, Clarice “Maggie” (Kelly) Jones, Tammy Jones, all of St. Michael; grandchildren she raised (her babies), Crystal BlueShield, Trevor Lee Jones, Kylie Jones, Elizabeth Jones, all of St. Michael; brother, Greg (LaVonne) Feather Sr., Bismarck, Sister, Eldora Dauphinais, Ft. Totten, sister, Violet (Calvin) Smith, Tokio, adopted sister, Laverne (Alvin) Bear, Ft. Totten, sisters-in-law, Diane Jackson and Doris Longie, St. Michael; brother-in-law, Demus McDonald, Ft. Totten; and her beloved pet chiwauwa, King; grandchildren, Kaylen Jones, August “Tobey” Jones, Augustine GoodBird, Daniel St. John, Nathanya and Miranda Jones, Ricki Rainbow, Gage, Gabrielle and Nathan Jones III, Cethandra Jones, Chance Jones, Jenny Jones, Ira and Simone Jones, Simona White, Skailee, Jaden, Currean and Torri Jones, Tara and Taron Mason, Joseph and Serenity Demarce; great grandchildren, Tashina and Tristen BlueShield, Reginald and Jeremiah Black, Aiden GoodBird, Kierra Garcia, Mason and Madison Jones, Aiesha St. John, Saige Love Jones; special nieces, Clarice Fox, Minot, Justine McDonald, Devils Lake; adopted daughters, Rainy Anderson, Kelly and Kami BirdHorse, all of St. Michael; several nieces, nephews and their children.   Cecelia was preceded in death by her husband Nathan “Buck” Jones, Sr.; son, Kevin James Jones; parents, Clara and Moses Feather Mazakohomni; sisters, Bernadette McDonald, Twyla Feather, Cynthia Cavanaugh; brothers, Raymond and Bruce Feather, Ivan BlackCloud; nieces, Wanda Ann Jackson and Clara Cavanaugh.   The family would like to thank Dr. Jackie Downs and Mrs. Sonta Dauphinais for being there for us in our time of sorrow and everyone for all their prayers.  God Bless every one of you.