Baker City, Oregon
Virginia Francis Butterfield Jones, 69, a lifetime Baker County resident, died April 13, 2002, at her home in Baker City.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2625 Hughes Lane. Bishop Greg Baxter of the 1st Ward will officiate. Interment will be in Mount Hope Cemetery.
Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.
Virginia was born on Jan. 9, 1933, the second of three daughters to John Butterfield and Elsie Bernard Butterfield on a mining claim near Sparta Butte. In her early school years, her dad would put her on a horse and she would ride horseback to school. Her parents moved to Baker City around 1940. She attended Baker schools and was in the class of 1951.
She married Kenneth Jones in Baker City on Oct. 7, 1952, while Kenneth was on leave from the Air Force. They immediately moved to Spokane, Wash., where their daughter, Cheryl Lynn, was born.
They were then stationed at McCord Air Force base in Tacoma, Wash. In 1955, they were transferred to Washington, D.C., where their son, Patrick John, was born. They were discharged in Washington, D.C., in January 1959, and returned to Baker City.
Virginia enjoyed crocheting, embroidery, puzzles, and was involved in the American Legion Auxiliary. She enjoyed outdoor activities and her calling in the LDS church, which she and Kenneth joined in 1999.
Her great love was riding motorcycles. Over the last 28 years, she rode on the back of the motorcycle with her husband driving. They traveled 281,000 miles and she loved every mile of their travels. They would often ride 400 miles to Missoula, Mont., or to Lincoln City just for a dinner date together.
She loved to wave to all the kids she saw in the cars as they drove down the highway. On the back roads, she loved to watch the deer and the antelope play. Kenneth called her his “motorcycle mama.”
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Elsie Butterfield, and one granddaughter, Virginia Walker.
Survivors include her husband, Kenneth Jones of Baker City; sisters, Jean Woolery and her husband, Kenneth, of Springfield and Patricia Stacy of Eugene; her children, Cheryl Walker of The Dalles and Patrick and Theresa Jones of Redmond; grandchildren, Jennifer and Katie Walker of The Dalles and Justin and Stacey Jones of Redmond; and great-grandson Brenden Jones of Hood River; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was an honorary grandmother to Shaun, Tamra, Aaron, Adam, Daniel, and Brandon Lutz of Baker City.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pathway Hospice, 1904 Resort St., or through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, April 19, 2002
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor