Although the Joneses didn't have much in the way of material things, they made a million memories.

His sister remembers playing "Pioneer" with Gary. They'd attach ropes to the tongue of the green trailer their parents used for shucking corn and pretend they were driving a horse covered wagon. Although they never moved an inch, they spent hours traveling the prairie in their imaginations.

One summer before Gary began kindergarten, his mom and dad somehow scraped together enough money to buy the kids new bicycles. Gary's was a Hop-a-long Cassidy bike, black with silver western grommets. It had double holsters and cap pistols on each side. Gary's sister taught him how to ride Hop-a-long Cassidy without training wheels. They practiced on the dirt road for hours. It took all of his sister's strength, but she held the back of the bike while Gary peddled. He was afraid to have her let go, so she held on, up and down the old dirt road. One time, his sister decided to let go of the bike. When Gary looked back and saw she wasn't holding on, he   

panicked and started swerving. His sister caught up with him, just as a neighbor was driving down the road (right at him)! Thank goodness, the oncoming car was only going about 10 mph. His sister tried to hold the bike up as Gary toppled over, but her hand got caught under old Hop-a-long Cassidy. She never again had feeling in one spot on her left index finger. She forever teased Gary about it – poking her finger with a pin to gross him out! Gary hated needles, and his sister loved teasing him!

Another fond memory is when Gary and his brothers and sisters used the hood of the old car for a sled. They chained that old hood to the back of the car and took everyone "sledding."

And, of course, no one will ever forget the tree house at the old Jonestead – it was a great source of fun (and trouble)! Gary's mom and dad were shocked when they got their electric bill one month because it was about three times the normal monthly bill. Come to find out, Gary had taken the space heater up to the tree house to keep warm. Once, the tree house became the place to make a batch of home brew. Gary, his brother, sisters, cousins and friends all remember the rope swing. Of course, Gary continued the tradition for his children and his nieces and nephews. There was always a rope swing at Grammy and Granddad's and another one at the Cabin where the kids spent hours swinging on the rope and landing in the river!

Gary was full of mischief. His sister remembers when Gary was in first or second grade, the teacher said something he apparently couldn't agree with. Gary stood up in class and told his teacher she wasn't a "good citizen," a testimonial to his belief to stand up for what was right.

When Gary was 16, he got a traffic ticket for making a U-turn. Home brew found in the car was confiscated at that time. He worked part-time driving an ice cream truck. Not wanting his Mom to find out about the home brew incident, he couldn't ask for the car. Although the ice cream truck wasn't permitted on the highway, Gary drove it 10 miles per hour all the way to town, with its music chiming all the way.

Once, Gary and some friends went camping. In the middle of the night, they decided they wanted to go into town and have foot races down Main Street. They woke Gary up so he could drive since he was the only sober one in the group. When they were pulled over by police, Gary was dressed only in his underwear. Gary convinced the police he was sober, and when they wanted to see his driver's license, he reached back and pulled his wallet out from his underwear.

Gary loved fast cars, motorcycles, hunting, camping and fishing. He made his own ammo during hunting season. He made his own home brew as a youngster. Before he gave up smoking, he even rolled his own cigarettes. Gary and his first wife of 31 years once rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle across country. They camped out the entire way – no motels! They slept on picnic tables in sleeping bags.

One thing everyone fondly remembers is that Gary whistled. He whistled while he worked. He whistled in the mornings when he made his coffee. And, if you know Gary, you know he always had his coffee – and there was a specific coffee ritual that he followed. He heated his thermos with hot water then filled both thermoses with coffee. Of course, he always used creamer. And on his lunch box he had a yellow rope with a thermos tied to each end so he could throw his thermoses over his shoulder and carry his lunch to work.