Diana Jones was a firefighter and EMT with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, located about 25 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Her son was also a member of the department. Each summer, they would work with a company that contracts with the federal government to respond to wildfires in western states. Her latest assignment sent her to the Mendocino National Forest north of San Francisco.
Cresson's fire chief remembered Jones as a dedicated firefighter.
"A lot of us will miss her. She was a good firefighter. She was a good EMT and she was just a good person," said Chief Ron Becker. "There are people that rather than stand back they'll help people do things and she was not one to stand back."
Becker said Jones came from a family of public servants.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cremated remains of Diana Jones, a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, are scheduled to be flown into Bourland Field Airport on Wednesday afternoon, Chief Ron Becker told the Star-Telegram Tuesday morning. A small group of family and fellow firefighters will be waiting to greet her casket following its long journey home from California. More people will have the opportunity to say goodbye to the fallen public servant over the next week.
Jones, who left her job as a hairdresser at age 58 to become a firefighter, has been remembered for her dedication to her second career that led her to battle wildfires in other states and take on renovating the Cresson department’s training facility. Before her funeral on Sept. 19, Jones’ urn will lie in this facility, where people can visit her ahead of her public memorial service.
On Aug. 31, Jones, 63, was killed in a vehicle accident within the August Complex fire in the Mendocino National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release.
The funeral for Jones will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church. As a tribute to her life and her impact on the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, the training facility where she devoted so much time — itself a former Church of Christ chapel — will be named for her.
Becker, standing in the building, said over the phone on Tuesday morning “for some reason, she adopted this building.” She repainted the interior walls, he said. She would often be on her hands and knees, waxing the floor.
“She saw taking care of this building as a void for her to fill,” Becker said as he made preparations for Jones’ remains to be on display in the training center. “It was just unanimous that this was the right thing to do for this old building. I hope she would’ve appreciated it.”
He’s waiting to speak with Jones’ family before deciding on the official name of the training center. The plane picking up the cremated remains has already left for California, Becker said Tuesday morning, and the earliest it’s expected back is around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Though the return of the plane in Cresson is open only to family, firefighters and some media, anyone will be able to say goodbye to her over the next week, as those moved by her story continue to mourn her death.
Underneath a Facebook post from the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department on Monday afternoon announcing the return of Jones’ remains, people offered their condolences to her family and the department, and thanked her for service in California. The people ranged from grateful Californians, to people who said they’re volunteer firefighters themselves.
Jones, who grew up in Houston, had two sons and two stepsons, as well as nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild, according to her cousin, Dayna Chapman. She started fighting wildfires in other states two or three years ago, Chapman said, so she could be with her son, Ian Shelly, a Cresson captain who was with Jones in California.
Becker acknowledged the reunion on Wednesday will be a tough one, with a variety of emotions. It should be a relief to have her remains back in Cresson, and that her loved ones have to do no more waiting, Becker said.
But, so far, her “loss has been in the abstract for us,” he said. “We’re gonna have what’s left of Diana here, and that’s gonna tug a lot at some of our emotional wounds that have sort of, maybe, stabilized a little.”
“I’m gonna be relieved to know that we have her,” Becker said. “But I’m also gonna be slapped by the reality of something that so far has been words over a telephone.”
The facility where people can come to visit Jones’ remains is located at 9401 E. US 377 in Cresson.
Her public memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church, fire officials said in a Facebook post Monday. There was no information on a separate funeral service.
She will be buried in Marble Falls next to her husband.
Her son was also a member of the department. Each summer, they would work with a company that contracts with the federal government to respond to wildfires in western states. Her latest assignment sent her to the Mendocino National Forest north of San Francisco.
Cresson's fire chief remembered Jones as a dedicated firefighter.
"A lot of us will miss her. She was a good firefighter. She was a good EMT and she was just a good person," said Chief Ron Becker. "There are people that rather than stand back they'll help people do things and she was not one to stand back."
Becker said Jones came from a family of public servants.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cremated remains of Diana Jones, a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, are scheduled to be flown into Bourland Field Airport on Wednesday afternoon, Chief Ron Becker told the Star-Telegram Tuesday morning. A small group of family and fellow firefighters will be waiting to greet her casket following its long journey home from California. More people will have the opportunity to say goodbye to the fallen public servant over the next week.
Jones, who left her job as a hairdresser at age 58 to become a firefighter, has been remembered for her dedication to her second career that led her to battle wildfires in other states and take on renovating the Cresson department’s training facility. Before her funeral on Sept. 19, Jones’ urn will lie in this facility, where people can visit her ahead of her public memorial service.
On Aug. 31, Jones, 63, was killed in a vehicle accident within the August Complex fire in the Mendocino National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release.
The funeral for Jones will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church. As a tribute to her life and her impact on the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, the training facility where she devoted so much time — itself a former Church of Christ chapel — will be named for her.
Becker, standing in the building, said over the phone on Tuesday morning “for some reason, she adopted this building.” She repainted the interior walls, he said. She would often be on her hands and knees, waxing the floor.
“She saw taking care of this building as a void for her to fill,” Becker said as he made preparations for Jones’ remains to be on display in the training center. “It was just unanimous that this was the right thing to do for this old building. I hope she would’ve appreciated it.”
He’s waiting to speak with Jones’ family before deciding on the official name of the training center. The plane picking up the cremated remains has already left for California, Becker said Tuesday morning, and the earliest it’s expected back is around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Though the return of the plane in Cresson is open only to family, firefighters and some media, anyone will be able to say goodbye to her over the next week, as those moved by her story continue to mourn her death.
Underneath a Facebook post from the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department on Monday afternoon announcing the return of Jones’ remains, people offered their condolences to her family and the department, and thanked her for service in California. The people ranged from grateful Californians, to people who said they’re volunteer firefighters themselves.
Jones, who grew up in Houston, had two sons and two stepsons, as well as nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild, according to her cousin, Dayna Chapman. She started fighting wildfires in other states two or three years ago, Chapman said, so she could be with her son, Ian Shelly, a Cresson captain who was with Jones in California.
Becker acknowledged the reunion on Wednesday will be a tough one, with a variety of emotions. It should be a relief to have her remains back in Cresson, and that her loved ones have to do no more waiting, Becker said.
But, so far, her “loss has been in the abstract for us,” he said. “We’re gonna have what’s left of Diana here, and that’s gonna tug a lot at some of our emotional wounds that have sort of, maybe, stabilized a little.”
“I’m gonna be relieved to know that we have her,” Becker said. “But I’m also gonna be slapped by the reality of something that so far has been words over a telephone.”
The facility where people can come to visit Jones’ remains is located at 9401 E. US 377 in Cresson.
Her public memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church, fire officials said in a Facebook post Monday. There was no information on a separate funeral service.
She will be buried in Marble Falls next to her husband.
Diana Jones was a firefighter and EMT with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, located about 25 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Her son was also a member of the department. Each summer, they would work with a company that contracts with the federal government to respond to wildfires in western states. Her latest assignment sent her to the Mendocino National Forest north of San Francisco.
Cresson's fire chief remembered Jones as a dedicated firefighter.
"A lot of us will miss her. She was a good firefighter. She was a good EMT and she was just a good person," said Chief Ron Becker. "There are people that rather than stand back they'll help people do things and she was not one to stand back."
Becker said Jones came from a family of public servants.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cremated remains of Diana Jones, a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, are scheduled to be flown into Bourland Field Airport on Wednesday afternoon, Chief Ron Becker told the Star-Telegram Tuesday morning. A small group of family and fellow firefighters will be waiting to greet her casket following its long journey home from California. More people will have the opportunity to say goodbye to the fallen public servant over the next week.
Jones, who left her job as a hairdresser at age 58 to become a firefighter, has been remembered for her dedication to her second career that led her to battle wildfires in other states and take on renovating the Cresson department’s training facility. Before her funeral on Sept. 19, Jones’ urn will lie in this facility, where people can visit her ahead of her public memorial service.
On Aug. 31, Jones, 63, was killed in a vehicle accident within the August Complex fire in the Mendocino National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release.
The funeral for Jones will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church. As a tribute to her life and her impact on the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, the training facility where she devoted so much time — itself a former Church of Christ chapel — will be named for her.
Becker, standing in the building, said over the phone on Tuesday morning “for some reason, she adopted this building.” She repainted the interior walls, he said. She would often be on her hands and knees, waxing the floor.
“She saw taking care of this building as a void for her to fill,” Becker said as he made preparations for Jones’ remains to be on display in the training center. “It was just unanimous that this was the right thing to do for this old building. I hope she would’ve appreciated it.”
He’s waiting to speak with Jones’ family before deciding on the official name of the training center. The plane picking up the cremated remains has already left for California, Becker said Tuesday morning, and the earliest it’s expected back is around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Though the return of the plane in Cresson is open only to family, firefighters and some media, anyone will be able to say goodbye to her over the next week, as those moved by her story continue to mourn her death.
Underneath a Facebook post from the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department on Monday afternoon announcing the return of Jones’ remains, people offered their condolences to her family and the department, and thanked her for service in California. The people ranged from grateful Californians, to people who said they’re volunteer firefighters themselves.
Jones, who grew up in Houston, had two sons and two stepsons, as well as nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild, according to her cousin, Dayna Chapman. She started fighting wildfires in other states two or three years ago, Chapman said, so she could be with her son, Ian Shelly, a Cresson captain who was with Jones in California.
Becker acknowledged the reunion on Wednesday will be a tough one, with a variety of emotions. It should be a relief to have her remains back in Cresson, and that her loved ones have to do no more waiting, Becker said.
But, so far, her “loss has been in the abstract for us,” he said. “We’re gonna have what’s left of Diana here, and that’s gonna tug a lot at some of our emotional wounds that have sort of, maybe, stabilized a little.”
“I’m gonna be relieved to know that we have her,” Becker said. “But I’m also gonna be slapped by the reality of something that so far has been words over a telephone.”
The facility where people can come to visit Jones’ remains is located at 9401 E. US 377 in Cresson.
Her public memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church, fire officials said in a Facebook post Monday. There was no information on a separate funeral service.
She will be buried in Marble Falls next to her husband.
Her son was also a member of the department. Each summer, they would work with a company that contracts with the federal government to respond to wildfires in western states. Her latest assignment sent her to the Mendocino National Forest north of San Francisco.
Cresson's fire chief remembered Jones as a dedicated firefighter.
"A lot of us will miss her. She was a good firefighter. She was a good EMT and she was just a good person," said Chief Ron Becker. "There are people that rather than stand back they'll help people do things and she was not one to stand back."
Becker said Jones came from a family of public servants.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cremated remains of Diana Jones, a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, are scheduled to be flown into Bourland Field Airport on Wednesday afternoon, Chief Ron Becker told the Star-Telegram Tuesday morning. A small group of family and fellow firefighters will be waiting to greet her casket following its long journey home from California. More people will have the opportunity to say goodbye to the fallen public servant over the next week.
Jones, who left her job as a hairdresser at age 58 to become a firefighter, has been remembered for her dedication to her second career that led her to battle wildfires in other states and take on renovating the Cresson department’s training facility. Before her funeral on Sept. 19, Jones’ urn will lie in this facility, where people can visit her ahead of her public memorial service.
On Aug. 31, Jones, 63, was killed in a vehicle accident within the August Complex fire in the Mendocino National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release.
The funeral for Jones will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church. As a tribute to her life and her impact on the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department, the training facility where she devoted so much time — itself a former Church of Christ chapel — will be named for her.
Becker, standing in the building, said over the phone on Tuesday morning “for some reason, she adopted this building.” She repainted the interior walls, he said. She would often be on her hands and knees, waxing the floor.
“She saw taking care of this building as a void for her to fill,” Becker said as he made preparations for Jones’ remains to be on display in the training center. “It was just unanimous that this was the right thing to do for this old building. I hope she would’ve appreciated it.”
He’s waiting to speak with Jones’ family before deciding on the official name of the training center. The plane picking up the cremated remains has already left for California, Becker said Tuesday morning, and the earliest it’s expected back is around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Though the return of the plane in Cresson is open only to family, firefighters and some media, anyone will be able to say goodbye to her over the next week, as those moved by her story continue to mourn her death.
Underneath a Facebook post from the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department on Monday afternoon announcing the return of Jones’ remains, people offered their condolences to her family and the department, and thanked her for service in California. The people ranged from grateful Californians, to people who said they’re volunteer firefighters themselves.
Jones, who grew up in Houston, had two sons and two stepsons, as well as nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild, according to her cousin, Dayna Chapman. She started fighting wildfires in other states two or three years ago, Chapman said, so she could be with her son, Ian Shelly, a Cresson captain who was with Jones in California.
Becker acknowledged the reunion on Wednesday will be a tough one, with a variety of emotions. It should be a relief to have her remains back in Cresson, and that her loved ones have to do no more waiting, Becker said.
But, so far, her “loss has been in the abstract for us,” he said. “We’re gonna have what’s left of Diana here, and that’s gonna tug a lot at some of our emotional wounds that have sort of, maybe, stabilized a little.”
“I’m gonna be relieved to know that we have her,” Becker said. “But I’m also gonna be slapped by the reality of something that so far has been words over a telephone.”
The facility where people can come to visit Jones’ remains is located at 9401 E. US 377 in Cresson.
Her public memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Granbury Church of Christ, which was her church, fire officials said in a Facebook post Monday. There was no information on a separate funeral service.
She will be buried in Marble Falls next to her husband.
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