Born January 25, 1941 in Milwaukee, Wisc. to parents Alonzo Joseph and Jeanette Marie (Guilbault) LaFlame, and departed on October 8, 2025. She was the youngest of three siblings. Her sister Mary Janice (LaFlame) Boyd Proctor, brother Alonzo Joseph LaFlame Jr., brother in-law James ‘Jim’ DeMoss, and ex-husband Richard ‘Dick’ Ross Jones are since deceased.

She is survived by her son Robert ‘Bob’ Ross Jones, daughter in-law Beth (Turner) Jones, and grandson Owen Ashby Jones; sister in-law Patricia LaFlame and sister in-law Sone (Jones) Piper; nieces Lisa LaFlame, Cindy (LaFlame) Justice, and Karin (Piper) Harmon; nephews Mark Piper and Bill “Billy” Boyd.

Her family moved to Southern California when she was still in high school. She graduated from Hollywood High in 1959 with the likes of Linda Evans and Stephanie Powers. She met her first and only husband on a blind date and they were married shortly thereafter in 1961. She and Dick loved to take road trips to places like Las Vegas and Virginia City.

They adopted their only child at six weeks old in 1966, while living in a small apartment in Glendale, Calif. They relocated to Bakersfield, Calif. shortly after in pursuit of Dick’s career as an embalmer and funeral director. She had a variety of odd jobs, including working the switchboard at Three-Way Chevrolet and doing hair at the funeral home. Unfortunately after her initial debilitating injury in the early seventies, she endured a countless series of surgeries throughout the rest of her life, most of which revolved around multiple fusions of her spine. In spite of these setbacks she was a model of vitality.

She was a devoted wife and mother and helped to raise Great Danes. Their travels became largely consumed with showing dogs until they divorced in 1980. Afterwards, she and her bestie Shirley Hall, also recently divorced, hit the town like they had a new lease on life. They spent many a night whooping it up and two-stepping at Trouts or one of their favorite spots in Morro Bay or playing bingo. She eventually settled in with a new bunch of friends like Breck and Carl, with whom she happened to share a birthday, who she’d hang out with at the piano bar in the old Padre in downtown Bakersfield.

She relocated to Arcata shortly after her grandson ‘Owie’ arrived in 2006, and lived out the rest of her years there.

“Nana,” as she came to be known by many of those closest to her, was loved for her open heart and adventurous spirit. She even inspired a rousing chant of “Bob’s mom rocks!” that can still be heard every year around the campfire at Mike & Bob’s Easter Xtravaganza. She had an uncanny way of making friends with the most unlikely people, like Patty and Melissa in Bakersfield, or Beverly and Kay in Arcata, all of them notably younger than her — with the exception of Carl — and maintaining those ties until the end. She also had the curious ability to get the better of a slot machine, after which she’d always share her winnings with whoever she was with. She maintained a winning attitude in spite of her various afflictions and was a wealth of moral support to those she loved. Our worlds will never be the same without her.

As she was a great lover and defender of animals. Please give to your local animal shelter in lieu of flowers. A special thanks to her caregivers at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, Hospice of Humboldt, and Timber Ridge in McKinleyville. There will not be a memorial service but a local celebration of life will be announced.

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