Obituary of Catherine M. Jones

Catherine Jones, age 61, passed away on Thursday, August 2, 2012 after an 11-year bout with ALS ("Lou Gehrig's Disease"). Cathy was born in St. Louis, MO on March 7, 1951 to Delores (Goodhart) DeVeney and John DeVeney and moved to Omaha, NE as a young girl. It was her Midwest upbringing that led Cathy to her lifelong loves for St. Louis Cardinals baseball and Nebraska Cornhuskers football. After graduating from Benson High School in 1969 and with hopes of becoming an astronaut, Cathy enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and joined Sigma Kappa sorority. In 1972, Cathy met her husband-to-be, Greg Jones. They quickly fell in love and were married on December 30, 1972. Their honeymoon, a car trip across the American West, epitomized the shared love of travel that shaped their lives. Cathy moved to Chester, Connecticut in December of 1986. Over the years Cathy held several jobs, the last as administrative assistant to Chester's former first selectman Martin Heft. However, her true passion and calling was Mother. Cathy spent much of her "free time" shuttling her four children to sports events, scout functions, and friend's houses all over Connecticut. All of her children's friends were gladly welcomed into the family and Cathy's doors were literally never locked. Cathy also "adopted" dozens of punk rock bands, and through her involvement with and love for the punk rock community, Cathy became widely and affectionately known as "The Punk Rock Mom". In May of 2003, Cathy was diagnosed with ALS, yet she continued to travel the world and attend punk rock concerts. She climbed the Spanish Steps in Rome, chased rainbows across Ireland, and watched a rocket launch to Mars. She lost the use of her voice in 2003, her legs in 2006, her lungs in 2007, her hands in 2010, and finally her life. But through it all Cathy never lost herself. Cathy dreamed of being an astronaut and instead became a star who continues to brighten all of our lives who called her Mom. Besides he husband and father she is survived by her children, Jeremy P. Jones, of Tucson, AZ, Melinda M. Brainerd, of Middletown, Josh J. Jones, of Battle Creek, MI, and Angela L. Jones, of Chester, her granddaughter, Ava Brainerd and her expected granddaughter, Liliana Jones, her brothers, John DeVeney, Jr. of Giltner, NE and Gary DeVeney, of Omaha, NE. Besides her mother she was predeceased by her brother, William DeVeney. Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 5th from 2:00PM to 4:00PM at the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, 34 Main Street in Centerbrook. Memorial contributions may be made in Cathy's name to the ALS Association, 4 Oxford Road, Unit D4, Milford, CT 06460. To share a memory of Cathy or send a condolence to her family please visit www.rwwfh.com.