F. "Max" Maxwell Jones

JONES, Max
March 18, 1933 – June 18, 2017

Max Jones died peacefully, and with grace, on Sunday June 18, 2017, on Father’s Day at the age of 84 years. He was right where he wanted to be – at home on the 2J where he passed for the loving care of his beloved Oce, to the safe keeping of angels.

Max was born in Lacombe, Alberta on March 18, 1933. He and his sister, Kae, were raised on the farm south of Morningside, Alberta where his mother, Katie, worked for Uncle Bill Taylor (‘Unc’). They rode horse to the one-room schoolhouse in Morningside, When Katie remarried, she moved the family to Edmonton. Max took every opportunity to hitchhike from the city to spend weekends and holidays on the farm with Unc. When Uncle Bill died in 1954, Max inherited the farm.

Following graduation from Victoria High School, Dad attended Vermilion School of Agriculture. Many of the people he met there are life-long friends.

When he hurt his hand in a farm accident in 1956, he figured his dream of farming dissolved in that moment of inattention. Dad often recalled that Dr. Tetz told him, “There are more ways of farming that milking cows.”

For a while he made ends meet by working across the highway at the Morningside Service Station. One day, a businessman of his acquaintance suggested Dad would get ahead if he went to work at the hospital and hire a man to look after the farm.  Dad took this advice and applied for a job at the Ponoka Mental Hospital (as it was called then). During the interview, he was asked if he was interested in taking the Psychiatric Nursing course. Dad felt that the job depended on his answer being “yes”.

He signed on to take that course. Oliver Blyan, the man hired to care for the farm, and Dad’s fellow classmates in the Psych course were added to the cast of characters in the stories he told all his life.

In 1955, Max met his beloved Oce. He was twitterpated.  They dated for a few years and when Oce was finally satisfied he would be a good father to her two daughters, she said ‘yes’ to his umpteenth proposal. They married on August 5, 1960; in April 1964, they moved the ‘2J Farm’ sign from the gate at Morningside to the garage door at the farm south of Clive.

In January of 1970, Helen and Greg moved to the farm; in Dad’s words, “our family was complete.”

Dad and Mom farmed together until his diagnosis of congestive heart failure forced him into retirement. He was happy to say he had planted 49 crops.

When they rented their land to Ted & Naomi Bennett, he farmed from the office window, content that the Bennett family was running the outfit just as he would, if he was able.

If you knew Dad, we knew you through the stories he told.  For a man who never wanted to leave the farm, he knew an awful lot about everyone in the neighbourhood – and beyond.

Dad was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and uncle.  He was a trusted friend and confidante. We will miss his love and support, his silliness and his stories. 

A Memorial Service will be held at the Clive Baptist Church, Clive, AB on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 3:00 pm. 

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.