Not 2 Square's Tribute to Dee Jones

The Not 2 Square Weavers lost one of their founding members this past week.  The slide show tells a little of Dee Jones'  story.  The tributes from our members (below) tell more about the woman.  The ending photo in the slide show is of Dee when she worked as a fire lookout on Pegleg lookout in Lassen National Forest with her husband, Pat.  He spotted the fires - she called in the coordinates!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Every time I was with Dee i thought of what an extraordinary person she was. She never spoke ill of people, even when they hurt her. Dee was very giving with her time, knowledge, and expertise - whether that be with individuals new to the craft (weaving, spinning, knitting, sewing) or experienced; always time for a quick question or to provide specific help. She was fun, serious, and easy going. Dee enjoyed life, appreciated those that became her friend, always had a compliment for whatever project in progress or finished. I will miss her at my table and among my circle of friends, remember her with love, and drink a bubbly toast to a very gracious lady. - Marjorie McConnell

________________________________________________________________________________

Her kindness, humor and interest in others captivated me from when I first met her at one of the Virginia City retreats, and I was lucky to spend a couple of retreats with her. One morning a group of us were all knitting Falling Leaf samples for Sara Lamb's SpinOff article and chatting like monkeys. Sara noted that her sample seemed to be growing and held it up for us to see, to which Dee asked with that famous twinkle in her eye, "Might this be a good time to count your stitches?" I marveled at how kindly she corrected the teacher.

I know she read my blog and periodically she'd email me. I visited her several weeks before her death, and she wanted to know all about what I was doing, how I was going and was so happy to see me. She was so excited about my upcoming Handwoven article and wanted to see the pictures on my cell phone. When we arrived she was reading the latest Handwoven issue. I hope I can pay it forward what Dee paid to me. - Sharon Campbell

_________________________________________________________________________________

We are so going to miss Dee. She was an adventurous and inspiring weaver and I want to share the last thing she said to me, when I visited her 6 weeks ago.

"Yes, [weaving] is an adventure. But it’s a bit like learning computer. Just try it, push a button. The computer is not going to break; although you may not be able to retrace your steps with the computer. One thing is different with weaving, there is always a string to hold on to to find your way back."

I hope there are some angels with big strings pulling Dee into her new adventure.
-Wendy-Marie Teichert

______________________________________________________________________________

We share the loss of Dee with her family and many friends. We will miss her extensive weaving and fiber knowledge; her willingness to share and help anyone with a question as well as her sense of humor and kindness. She had a grace and graciousness that are so rare. Dee was also just really fun to be with. I hope that I will carry just a little of her goodness with me to share with others.
- Ingrid Knox

_________________________________________________________________________________

In my 36 years of knowing Dee, she never failed to be upbeat, helpful, appreciative, and kind. However, she did not suffer fools and her insight was sharp as a tack.

Her vast knowledge not only covered many areas of fiber arts but also the world. Her appreciation of humor, both bawdy and not, was a delight. She had many wonderful stories to tell of her life : as a child living in a caravan pulled by horses while her father worked on building roads in Wyoming and her mother was the cook for the road crew, to living on the French Riviera, to being a fire lookout near Susanville, to living full time in Nevada City. She was a great conversationalist. I treasure the car rides to events when just the two of us were together and would talk of many things. She personified the way life should be led, including how to die gracefully. I loved her and will miss her always. I hope to live my life in such a positive way. - Lindsey Cleveland

_______________________________________________________________________________

The last few days it has been very hard to accept the fact that we now live in a world without Dee Jones. I first saw Dee at a CNCH Liaison meeting - maybe 1997? She was decked out in a big straw hat, wearing bright colored clothing (probably handwoven) and enthusiastically talking to all of us about the reasons we should get our guild members to come to the conference in Grass Valley. A couple of years later, when Igor and I moved to Nevada City, we met her officially and started a friendship that lasted until she moved on to her next big adventure this past week.

Dee was everything that has been posted here - a talented, fascinating woman who put a positive spin on almost everything. She had the rare talent of making you feel good about yourself. She was a critic, but always a very gentle one who could  find something good to say about your weaving or knitting disaster or at least get you to laugh about it. Dee was also a talented story teller who loved to talk about her rich life experiences and ended most stories with a great punch line.

I will never possess the rare qualities that made Dee so special. But the time I spent with Dee, taught me what it is to live life to the fullest and then accept death with grace and courage.  I will miss you Dee.
- Beryl Moody

Dee's daughter, Jill, has written a wonderful remembrance of her mother that appears in the Union Newspaper.
_________________________________________________________________________________