Eulogy given by Vann Wood at Keith Jones’ Funeral, May 1999:  As I sit down to reflect on my friend, the one you might know as Jones or Jonsie, Kay Jay, Keifer, or just Keith, so many things, so many moments kept coming to mind like…. His tremendous sense of humor, he made us all laugh – he made himself laugh, he said God had a great sense of humor, “Just look at the avocado pit, it's too big”!  It was this contagious humor that won you over. With Keith around, you were going to laugh. But it was his spiritual side that always amazed me.

His relationship with God, his vast knowledge of the Bible, and how it so aptly applied to our lives, made conversations with Keith so unique and remarkable. Keith would tell me to take care of the little things and let God take care of the big things, to be positive and hope and pray for the best, to have faith and trust in God. He taught this to little Rebecca also. He told me she would say “God does not like us not Loving Him first." Kim and I actually laughed that Keith’s arrival in Heaven is kind of like: "Wait till they get a load of Keith"!

As many of you know, golf was Keith’s passion and he was good at it. I was fortunately able to have played years of golf with Keith. I had seen him shoot par and witnessed double bogey rounds, but it was always a good day. He loved to say “It’s all good”. Spending the day on the golf course was not just golf. So much of it was sharing life. He would also remind you that life is a lot like golf - there are good days and bad days, and like golf, life is not always fair. Our last game together was last Sunday in a tournament for a kids athletics fundraiser and after we finished he asked me did I want to do #17, a par five again, the hole we had started on. Keith said “let’s play for five dollars”. We played to a tie. He smiled and said “You know Woody, this is the way it is supposed to be, we both wanted to win, but we’re happier that we tied”.

Keith taught me about "self worth". We all, at one time or another, question ours. He said “Sometimes God uses our weaknesses, thereby letting us use our strengths to develop our self worth”. He said that we should enjoy success, however small, and try to learn from our mistakes. He said to never lose sight of what’s really important. Smile and laugh and sing when you feel like it. “Trust those who love you.” Keith had a favorite Bible verse and it has become mine also. It's from the second book of Timothy, Chapter 4, Verses 7 & 8 from Paul, his favorite author in the Bible. It reads: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them that Love him appearing. In closing, I would like to read you a poem from Keith: We can’t know why the lily has so brief a time to bloom In the warmth of sunlight’s kiss upon its face, Before it folds its fragrance in and bids the world goodnight, To rest its beauty in a gentler place, But we can know that nothing that is loved is ever lost, And no one who has ever touched a heart can really pass away, Because some beauty lingers on in each memory of which they have been apart.

Jonsey, save me a tee time up there! I won’t say goodbye, just, I’ll tee ya later!

Information from Keith's Obituary: Richard Keith Jones, 37, of Pompano Beach, Fla., died Thursday, May 20, 1999. Keith was born in Greenville on July 11, 1961, to William Charles and Theta McFarlin Jones. He married Kimberly Williams (GHS 1981) on May 31, 1986 in Dallas, Texas. He was the owner of Jewelry Replacement Services, Inc. Keith graduated from the Gemological Institute of America and was a certified gemologist. He was also a member of the First Baptist Church of Pompano Beach, Fla. Keith was survived by his wife, Kim; his mother, Theta Jones Lewis of Greenville, a daughter, Rebecca Ashley Jones of Pompano Beach; a brother & sister-in-law, Jim and Tina Jones of Emory; father-in-law & mother-in-law, Harold and Joyce Williams of Campbell; sister-in-law, Debbie Williams of Plano, sisters-in-law & brothers-in-law, Sonia and Brian Aube of Dallas and Becky and Tim Drake of Greenville and several nieces and nephews.

John Motley and Keith Jones on their way to the Senior Prom in 1979.

Kim (Williams) Jones, Keith Jones and Denise Newhouse at the Class of '79 10 Year Reunion in 1989.