Obituary of Happy Jones

Happy Jones (Madeline E. Jones), daughter of Ernest and Bernice Sutcliffe, was born in Happy Camp, California, on November 30, 1925, and passed away on Thursday, October 07, 2010, in Lake Ozark, Missouri. She leaves behind her husband, Bob (Robert S.) Jones, her two children, daughter Nancy Fong, and son, Bill Rogers, his wife Kay, granddaughters Sarah Smith, her husband, Lee Leiber, Dalea Fong, Amy McCarthy, her husband Tom, and Shelly Davies; she is also survived by three great grandchildren, and three brothers, Swede (Donald), Wallace and Charles Sutcliffe, and many nieces and nephews. Happy was preceded in death by her sister, Ilene Giesser, her brother, Marvin (Cope) Sutcliffe, and her parents. Happy was one fourth Native American, raised as one of six children in Happy Camp, California, where her father was a forest ranger. He brought strangers home for dinner when they had no other place to eat. She got her generosity from him, and received her nickname from her husband Bob, because she had what he called an infectious smile. She was well known for helping others, especially students at Sacramento State University in California, where she was a department head and coordinator for student employment. Many of these students publicly attributed their success in college to Happy. Upon her retirement, the State of California Senate recognized her for her wonderful work and dedicated public service to several charitable organizations including the Boy Scouts of America and the March of Dimes. She was not only a good friend to people, but also to animals, especially her dog Mikey and the many stray cats and birds she has looked after and fed through the years. She will be deeply missed as a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend.