Lucile May Hayes Jones, of Nucla, will celebrate her 100th birthday on Feb. 21 with many friends and family members.
Jones was born in Kansas, married Bruce Jones, Sr. at 17 years of age, and later moved to Montrose with him and her parents. Eventually, she made her way to the West End.
A remarkable lady, she birthed 13 children, a few of whom were born in Uravan, including Janet McQuiston, of Nucla.
Jones, like many women who endured the Great Depression, was resourceful. At one point, she lived in a tent, up above the CC Ditch, past the town’s shop. There, she had seven children still living at home. Needless to say, keeping them clean and even just boiling water was not easy. Soon after, a family from her congregation donated an old church building to her. They delivered it to the site, making things a bit easier.
Later, in the early 1970s, she bought a house on Heron Street in Nucla. McQuiston questioned its condition, but Jones, whose father was a carpenter, knew how to fix up her environment. She made the house the best home she could for her family.
Having previously lived in Fruita and California, she’d done the same then too, improving her spaces and making them the best she could.
Even with so many children, she still worked outside the home, sometimes a few jobs at the same time. She did what she could to take care of her children, when her husband was gone for long periods, working various jobs out of town, and especially after they separated and divorced.
She lost two sons as a result of the Vietnam War, one during combat and the other due to exposure to Agent Orange. She also lost a daughter due to respiratory illness, and the deaths were painful for her.
McQuiston, also of Nucla and who lives just down the road from her mother, has such good memories of the past.
“She was a very good cook,” McQuiston told the Forum. “Here in Nucla, when we started the senior meals, they started at the VFW, and they contacted her. She had to go and repair the building and fix it, so she could make senior meals.”
That was in the mid-1970s, but she was always a good cook — and a good bread maker too. Her children and grandchildren always loved her homemade noodles.
Yes, she could sew, but with so many children, she didn’t sew as much as other ladies did. She’s always gardened, and she still does. She loves having roses and other fresh flowers. Even though she moved from Heron Street to her little trailer off Main Street and told her family she would simplify, she just can’t stop tending flowers. She still has gardens to this day.
“She wouldn’t be happy without flowers,” McQuiston said.
Jones is still living independently, and she’s basically healthy. She’s got all her faculties, and she’s still sharp, though she gets tired sometimes.
“She’s amazing, and she still knows everybody and everything,” McQuiston said. “She attributes her longevity to God.”
While her birthday is next Friday, her party is actually the day after, on Feb. 22, at Community Bible Fellowship on the highway. Most all of her remaining 10 children will be there, coming from Wray, Fruita, Canon City, Montrose, Longmont, Farmington and up the road in Nucla.
Pastor Bob Unterseher, former head of the church and now living in Montana, is happy to be here for it. He’s known Jones and her family a long time.
Lunch and cake will be served, and likely the party will last until the afternoon. Jones, at 100 years old, kindly declines gifts, but welcomes cards for the celebration.
