Connie Jane Jones: ‘Warm, funny, gracious, and genuinely kind’

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Connie Jane (Bugbee) Jones was born in Eureka, California, on December 20, 1954, and passed away in her hometown peacefully in the early morning hours of June 24, 2026, with her family by her side.

An earthquake struck Eureka the day Connie was born. Her mother, Kay, recalled lying in her hospital bed and watching a crack form across the wall. It seemed an early sign that a remarkable new energy had arrived in the world- a fitting beginning for someone that would spend her life bringing joy to others.

If you knew Connie, you knew two things. First, she was going to make you feel like family. Second, she was going to make you laugh. Sometimes both happened before you even sat down.

Connie was the oldest of Bob and Kay Bugbee’s four charismatic daughters. She grew up in a close-knit family that shaped her lifelong values of generosity, hospitality, humor, and love. Warm, funny, gracious, and genuinely kind, Connie had a remarkable gift for making people feel welcome. To know Connie was to adore her.

Connie could spend one Saturday night dancing at the Mattole Valley Grange and the next at the Ingomar Club, and be perfectly at home in both places. She never felt the need to be anyone other than herself, and somehow everyone around her felt right at home too. She made friends with her parents’ friends, her children’s friends, and just about everyone in between.

She attended Sacred Heart Elementary School and graduated from St. Bernard’s High School with the Class of 1973, where she was a cheerleader, Homecoming Queen, Miss Congeniality of the Rhododendron Parade, an accomplished baton twirler, and studied mime, proudly joking that her training traced back to the legendary Marcel Marceau. She later attended College of the Redwoods and remained close with many classmates throughout her life.

Some of Connie’s happiest memories were made in Petrolia, where family gatherings were filled with talent shows, skits, costumes, and laughter. That playful spirit never left her. Whether it was an unforgettable Halloween costume, a themed party, or her alter ego, “C.Jo”, Connie loved making life more fun. She never watched life from the sidelines. She was right in the middle of it.

As a young woman, Connie married Russ Killingsworth, and together they welcomed sons Ross and Riley. Years later she met Dave Jones after a chance encounter in Loleta. They married and spent the next 45 years building a beautiful life together while welcoming daughters Karlie and Hannah. Dave worked hard to provide for the family he loved, and Connie turned that foundation into a home filled with laughter, traditions, friendships, and memories. They were true partners.

Dinner at Connie’s house wasn’t just a meal; it was a tradition. Before eating, the family gathered to sing grace together, often in rounds. Connie especially loved when the last person stretched out the final Amen. If you happened to stop by around dinner time, there was never a question about whether you were invited. Connie simply added another place setting to the table.

One unmistakable deep breath from Mom was all it took. We sat up straighter, brought our forks to our mouths, and remembered our manners. Looking back, it’s one of those little things that still makes us smile.

Connie had a natural artistic eye. The yellow rose bush in the front yard was one of the first things family and friends noticed when they arrived, and she cared for it with patience, pride, and quiet consistency. Whether she was tending her flowers, decorating for a gathering, or writing a card in her beautiful penmanship, she made ordinary things feel special. She could take something right off the store rack and somehow make it look like it had been made just for her. Long before her children realized it, their mom was cool.

Throughout her life Connie embraced many different careers, from camp counselor and operating an in-home daycare to bookkeeping at Texaco, Renner, HealthCare Medical Associates, and Winzler & Kelly. In her fifties she fulfilled a lifelong dream by attending beauty school and becoming a hairstylist, where she loved helping others look their best. Yet of all the titles she held, her favorites were Mom and, later, Grammie.

Known lovingly as Grammie, Connie got down on the floor to read books, use funny voices, and turn ordinary afternoons into adventures.

Connie’s Catholic faith shaped the way she lived. Music filled the Jones home. She sang as she went about her day, treasured singing to the radio on cruises through Humboldt backroads, and later found great joy lending her beautiful soprano voice to the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir.

Connie is survived by her husband of 45 years, Dave Jones; her children Ross (Kelly), Riley (Rhiana), Karlie, and Hannah (Jesse); her beloved grandchildren Beau, Danica, Brody, Shelby, Maci, Kash, Opal, and Ty; her sisters Barb Lucas, Peggy (Louie) Valadao, and Kristine (Steve) Neel; her beloved nephews and nieces Travis, Cassidy, Dane, Dustin, Margo, Erika, Nicolette, and Jillian; her cherished extended family, including Isabel Brown; and countless lifelong friends who became family.

She was preceded in death by her parents Bob and Kay Bugbee; her infant brother Donald Bugbee; her mother-in-law Opal Jones; her brother-in-law Kim Lucas; and her grandparents Harry and Jane Anderson and Clark and Mae Bugbee.

Celebration of Life: Viewing Friday, July 24, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Sanders Funeral Home in Eureka. Funeral Mass Saturday, July 25, 9:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, followed by a reception at Old Growth Cellars at noon.

Connie taught us far more by the way she lived than by the words she spoke. She taught us to adapt when life didn’t go as planned, to be honest even when it was difficult, to stand up for ourselves and for others, and to always make time to gather around the dinner table. More than anything, Connie wanted to be remembered as someone who deeply loved her family and friends and who always stood up for what was right.

She succeeded.