DEBBIE OWEN JONES

1952-2009

Debbie Owen Jones was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 17, 1952, to Melvin and Daisy Hughes Owen.  In 1969, she married Charles Jones, with whom she shared two children, Casey and Jason.  In August 2007, Debbie learned that she had lung cancer.  She passed away on March 15, 2009, after courageously fighting lung cancer for almost 18 months.  Debbie served as a Title One paraprofessional at Guild from 2000 until her death in 2009.  Below, are the “A-Z’s” of Mrs. Debbie Jones that reflect what she brought to Guild School, her family, and her friends.

“Debbie Jones:  A – Z”

1.     Attitude 

·         (that ‘whatever needs to be done, needs to be done’);

·         The generous who is always just, and the just who is always generous, may, unannounced, approach the throne of heaven. -- Johann K. Lavater 

·         Acceptance:  of kids who are shunned by the rest of society  “If you accept one of these, then you accept me”     ~Jesus

2.     Belief:

·         in kids, in her colleagues, in her LORD: We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with him right now--to be happy with him at this very moment. But being happy with him now means:

·         loving as he loves, 

·         helping as he helps, 

·         giving as he gives, 

·         serving as he serves, 

·         rescuing as he rescues, 

·         being with him for all the twenty-four hours, 

·         touching him in his distressing disguise. 

·         MOTHER TERESA, A Gift for God

3.     Courage: 

·         to fight the fight, regardless of the odds"Courage leads to heaven” ~Seneca

·         Commitment:  to her family, friends, Guild School, Guild students ---"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." ~George Bernard Shaw

4.     Dedication

·         "There are no crown-wearers in heaven that were not cross-bearers here below." ~Charles Spurgeon

5.     Excellence: 

·         no one did it better than Ms. Debbie

·         Heaven must be in me before I can be in heaven. -- Charles Stanford

6.     Faith: 

·         in God; in kids; in colleagues

·         I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.
Jesus
Bible, John 11. 25-26.

7.     Greatness;

·         Godliness (actions speak louder!!!!)

·         Giving:  "Every charitable act is a stepping stone toward heaven"  ~Henry Ward Beecher

8.     Heroism: 

·         need a hero in your life?  You should have known Debbie!

·         HEART:  "The human heart is like a ship on a stormy sea driven about by winds blowing from all four corners of heaven."  ~Martin Luther

9.     Initiative: 

·         lacking so much in our society today, Debbie was the epitome of initiative; spent countless hours making special manipulatives for students, even while very, very sick

·         The most beautiful things in the universe are the starry heavens above us and the feeling of duty within us.~ Indian Proverb

10.                        Jesus: 

·         you could see Jesus work through her; “Let the Children come to me”

·         "On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it." ~Jules Renard

11.                        Kindness 

·         to all

·         the road to heaven is paved with good deeds

12.                        Love: 

·         for family, friends, learning, kids, Guild

·          There is only one path to Heaven. On Earth, we call it Love.”

13.                        Motivation: 

·         to do her best and then even more

·         "Heaven will be inherited by every man who has heaven in his soul." ~Henry Ward Beecher

14.                        Non-stop:

·         her work ethic

·          "Heaven never helps the man who will not act."  ~Sophocles

15.                        Originality: 

·         they don’t make ‘em like Debbie

·         Earth belongs to the brave but heaven to those who deserve it.~ Basque Proverb

16.                        Perseverance

·         Patience

·         Practice/Practice/Practice

·         "We talk about heaven being so far away. It is within speaking distance to those who belong there. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people." - Dwight L. Moody

17.                        Quality 

·         Spend in pure converse our eternal day; Think each in each, immediately wise; Learn all we lacked before; hear, know, and say What this tumultuous body now denies; And feel, who have laid our groping hands away; And see, no longer blinded by our eyes.
Author: Rupert Brooke

18.                        Resolve: 

·         to go out her own way, on her own time

·         “Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.

19.                        Strength: 

·         who else could say that they’d WILLINGLY work up until 8 days before their death to lung cancer;

·         "Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." ~Sir Thomas Moore

20.                        TIME: 

·         what greater gift could she give; she worked until the last day that she physically could.

·         To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens.
Bible
Ecclesiastes 3. 1. 

21.                        Understanding 

·         (what it takes to be great)

·         "Men are admitted into Heaven not because they have curbed and governed their passions or have no passions, but because they have cultivated their understandings. The treasures of Heaven are not negations of passion, but realities of intellect, from which all the passions emanate uncurbed in their eternal glory. The fool shall not enter into Heaven let him be ever so holy." - William Blake

22.                        Vim, vigor; Veni, Vidi, Vici

·         (she came to Guild, she saw academic deficiencies in children, and she helped them CONQUER those deficiencies)

·         I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it,--but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

23.                        Will 

·         (to live)

·         WORK: "All true work is sacred. In all true work, were it but true hand work, there is something of divineness. Labor, wide as the earth, has its summit in Heaven."  ~Thomas Carlyle

24.                        X: 

·         times tables (on her poster!!!!)

·         It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.
Author: Bible

25.                        Yearning for learning: 

·         never satisfied with doing/knowing at status quo; always sought to learn more in order to be a better teacher; Knew so much, but humble enough to know that she need to learn even more to be even better

·         Humility like darkness reveals the heavenly lights.
Author: Henry David Thoreau

26.                        Zeal: 

·         for LIFE

·         "Take all the pleasures of all the spheres, And multiply each through endless years,? One minute of heaven is worth them all."  ~Charles Lamb

Our loss; Heaven’s gain.

ALWAYS on our minds, FOREVER in our hearts.

~Lance Taylor

3/18/09

Debbie was and always will be a major part of Guild Elementary. She lived each day like it would be her last and gave her all. Her desire was that every child have the opportunity to become the best they could be, both in and out of the classroom. She devoted her life to making that happen and would want us to continue that legacy. Debbie inspires us to carry on and never, ever give up. Her words of wisdom to ALL students because she spoke them EVERY day, are "learn those multiplication facts, you've got to know those facts!"

~Kim Yoakem                                                                            Guild REACH Reading Teacher 

Debbie Jones was truly the bravest person I have ever met. I only had the privilege of knowing her for a brief amount of time, but I feel very blessed to have been given that time. My students and my children miss her dearly.

~Jill Groce                                                                                                                          Guild 3rd Grade Teacher

 I thought Mrs. Jones was the most tenacious person I had met and in a very good way.

~Terry Shepherd                                     Guild ERC Teacher

I'll never forget the first time I ever met Debbie here at Guild. I had not been here long myself, when I heard everyone talking about "Debbie is coming to Guild, Debbie is coming to Guild!" I began to wonder, "Who is this Debbie?" I was informed that she was the hardest working woman on Earth. A few days later, I kept noticing this blur go by the library several times a day. Finally, I stepped outside and introduced myself to the "blur", which was Debbie. I knew then that they had given a very accurate description of her - except, they left out positive, energetic, loving, and fun. I will truly miss her.

~Melissa Nolen                                                                            Guild Librarian