Bruce Jones

It is with heavy heart that we must convey the sudden and unexpected passing of Bruce Paul Jones – a beloved husband, an outstanding son, a wonderful brother and an incredible friend to so, so many. Preceded in death by his mother, Jane Jones; Bruce is survived by his wife Julie Jones, father John Paul Jones, sister Sandie Jones (Cathy), sister Pam Prazan (Jerry), nephews Tanner and Justin Prazan, as well as many other family members and a countless number of friends. Bruce was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 30, 1965, where he grew up and made many lifelong friends. After completing his education by finishing law school in Lincoln, he passed the Nebraska State Bar Exam in 1991 (on his first try, of course), and he began his lifelong career in the insurance claims business. In 1996, Bruce decided to leave the cold, snowy winters of Nebraska behind in exchange for 365 days a year of sunshine in Arizona. After packing all his worldly possessions into a U-Haul Trailer, he hitched it to his “Thunderchicken” and began his new life in Phoenix. Bruce being Bruce – he had no problem making friends and no trouble finding work in the insurance claims business right away, and by 2001 was a member of the Arizona State Bar. These friendships, like those made in Nebraska, also became lifelong friendships with family-like bonds. Bruce was always the friend that would be there if you needed him – no matter where “there” was. Bruce loved his life in Arizona – golfing, bowling, hanging with friends – it was great. He was quickly converted into a die-hard Cardinals fan and became a season ticket holder in 1998 with his best buddy Rick. Bruce and Rick never did your run-of-the-mill tailgating… Rick settled into the role as head chef (however, Bruce was famous for his “Cheesy Potatoes”), and Bruce was the well-oiled machine that paid attention to all the other details – making sure all the food was lined up in the proper order, with all the proper utensils, with all the proper condiments – and then he would orchestrate and participate in a rigorous and extremely thorough clean-up before heading into the stadium. Some would say Bruce was “just a bit” meticulous…. Boy, will he be missed….. In 2009, a career opportunity arose for Bruce, which would cause him to relocate to the tiny little town of Redding, California, for a couple of years – and this was where Bruce met Julie. It didn’t take long to was pretty clear Bruce met his wife, Julie. They both felt they had finally found their perfect mate – neither of them had any children, they both were just slightly competitive, they both were very passionate about whatever it was they were doing, and they loved doing all the same things – it was amazing! So, on May 28, 2011, Bruce and Julie (aka “Brulie and Juice”) got married in Redding on a golf course (of course). In 2012 they moved to Arizona – which has been the perfect, year-round playground for the two of them. They made a pact to try to play something at the end of each day to ensure that their lives did not consist of “eat, sleep, work, repeat”. Bruce and Julie were great partners in life and had twelve wonderful years playing together. Another thing we will miss about Bruce, is the way he did things and approached things, no matter what he was doing – be it work or play – he would do it with passion, precision, and perfection – which earned him the nickname “Silky Jones” in some circles. Consequently, Bruce was really good at whatever he did – as was evidenced by his low golf scores (often in the 70’s), his high bowling scores (carrying an average of 200), and anything else he put his mind to. Even so, Bruce was not self-absorbed – to the contrary, he was always the one helping you to be better at what you were doing – and he had a knack for being able to see what it was you needed to do to improve – whether it was at work or at play. There will never be another Bruce Paul Jones…he was one-of-a-kind – he represented all that was good, was smart, witty, clever, fun, and outgoing – he had beautiful blue eyes, a killer smile and a heart of gold – that’s what made him “our Bruce”. Taken far too young, Bruce will be missed by so, so many, but no one will miss him more than I – his wife, Julie Jones…. Olive my love to you…. Bruce Paul Jones – you will forever be in our hearts…