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Submitted: 6/25/23 • Approved: 7/5/23 • Last Updated: 7/8/23 • R275141-G275141-S3
Section East Knoll- Plot # 57
Wendy Jones
March 15, 1958 - March 31, 2021
Wendy Marie Jones age 63 of Harrisburg, SD, passed away Wednesday March 31, 2021 after a brief illness.
Family will greet friends from 12:30 PM until service time at 2:00 PM Monday April 5, 2021 at Miller Funeral Home 507 S. Main Avenue. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Wendy Marie Jones was born in Sioux Falls, SD, on March 15, 1958, to Katherine and Jack Parker. She was born into a large family with older siblings Debbie, Jack, and Tim. She was the older sister to both Kari and Mike. She grew up just north of Sioux Falls on old highway 77 in a small community called Renner. Growing up a social girl, the small-town life was difficult for her as most of her friends lived in Sioux Falls. That didn’t stop her though, as she had a bike and would often ride her bike the many miles into town to see them.
She attended Renberg elementary, Axtell Park Junior High, and Washington Senior High school. It was at Axtell Park that she met her future husband Evan Jones. Evan and Wendy married in 1983. They had their wedding at East Side Lutheran in Sioux Falls. It was the beginning of their lifetime together.
Evan played in a popular rock band called Wakefield throughout high school and college (Augustana) in Sioux Falls. At this time they had two children Tara and Sommer. Once the band had broken up in 1987, Evan, Wendy and the girls moved from Sioux Falls to Rapid City where Evan attended Engineering school at SD School of Mines and Technology. While Evan was taking classes, Wendy worked as a cosmetologist at Herberger’s in the local mall. She enjoyed this work being social as she was. She could talk with people as they came up to her counter, and she made many good friends with her co-workers and with her customers.
Upon graduation from SDSM&T, the couple and their two children, moved from Rapid City to the Quad cities in Iowa. Here Evan worked as an Engineer for Alcoa and Wendy continued working in cosmetology at Von Maur. It was here that the couple had their last child together. Blake was born in Davenport, IA in 1993. Once Blake was born, Wendy stopped working to concentrate on raising the children.
Over the next 15 years, the family moved as Evan was promoted. They lived in Chicago from 1994 to 1998, and then on to Sylvania, Ohio where the family stayed for the next ten years until 2008. In Sylvania, the family grew close as everyone was still home together. Tara was soon to meet Josh Samuels and get married and move to Erie PA. This just left Sommer and Blake at home. Soon Sommer was off to college, which left Blake home alone. As Blake was a good athlete, Wendy and Evan would often travel to watch Blake play sports. Because Evan was working for an international company (Hydro Aluminum), Wendy and Evan had several opportunities to travel to Europe and Scandinavia to visit relatives in Norway. They visited seven European and Scandinavian countries together during this time. It was also a time that the family enjoyed many trips to Orlando as one of their favorite vacation spots for the kids’ Spring Breaks from school.
In 2008, Sommer was off to graduate school, so Wendy, Evan, and Blake, decided to be adventurous and move to California. Wendy enjoyed the pleasant weather of California and the three-some enjoyed all that the Los Angeles area had to offer. Wendy often stated that it was like being on a permanent vacation! Due to Evan’s mother’s failing health, and being she was all alone, the three Jones’ moved back to SD to live in Yankton SD in 2010 after Blake graduated high school, to help support Rachel. For the next eight years, Wendy lived with Evan in Yankton until 2018 where they once again returned to their hometown of Sioux Falls as they purchased their fourth home in Harrisburg. During this time, Sommer was married to another Josh (Berner), and coincidentally, with two son-in-laws named Josh, their newly purchased home in Harrisburg was on Josh street! Coincidence?
Wendy always enjoyed moving and starting over. Each area gave her and the family new adventures and new friends. Every city that she lived in had something wonderful to offer, and new neighbors and friends to make. Although she stopped working after Blake was born, she continued to be her social self, making friends wherever she went. She leaves her husband, three children, two grandchildren, and one on the way, at the time of her death. Wendy was warm, devoted, affectionate, and fun-loving. She will live on through her husband, children, grandchildren, siblings and friends. She will be greatly missed by many.
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” -Winnie the Pooh
Grateful for having shared her life are her husband Evan; son Blake, Harrisburg; daughters Tara (Josh) Samuels, Erie, PA, Sommer (Josh) Jones Berner, Cincinnati, OH; her grandchildren, Addison and Camryn and one on the way; her siblings, Jack, Mike (Margie) and Tim Parker, Debbie Newman and Kari Heng, all of Rapid City; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Her parents Jack and Katherine Parker preceded her in death.
Contributed on 6/25/23 by 9katz
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Record #: 275141