Julie Theresa Jones

In celebration of the life of Julie Theresa Jones
August 17, 1983 - May 17, 2018

Julie was special. Born the only daughter of my brother, Dan, and his wife, Carol, she was destined to be the middle child with brothers on either side. Life for Julie was "normal" in every way as she grew into a teenager. At the age of 14, Julie started experiencing headaches, which led to the unfortunate diagnosis of a brain tumor. Despite two surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy,  doctors were not able to totally remove it, and it clearly had an impact on her life.

But that's not what I want to discuss. Julie died, unexpectedly, at the age of 34, probably due to adrenal insufficiency -- a side effect of her brain tumor which compromised her adrenal gland. It was shocking to all of us, as she seemed to be doing so well.

Despite her challenges, Julie was working as a delivery person for Jimmy John's at the time of her death. Due to the wonderful support she has always received from her immediate family, Julie was able to pack more in her life than most of us manage to accomplish in a much longer life span. She had received her Associate Degree from Cincinnati State. She had traveled the world, often as the result of her brother's job which took him to Germany, Colorado, Thailand and D.C. Although she still lived with her mother and father, she lived rather independently in her own suite including two bedrooms and a living area. She was able to travel to the Smoky Mountains (a favorite destination) and traveled to Thailand by way of China completely on her own.

Many family vacations were planned with Julie's needs in mind. Last year, she, her parents, her Uncle Tim and Aunt Dusty, and her Aunt Karen and cousin, Michael, went on the trip of a lifetime to Alaska.

Michael, Karen, Julie, Carol, Dan, Dusty and Tim, 2017 Trip to Alaska

After the initial shock of Julie's passing, her brother, Greg, gathered photos of Julie which ended up taking 75 minutes to view. Her Aunt Kath made a short video of Julie with her family, illustrating the huge role she played in the Jones family over the years.

No one post can do her justice. At the service celebrating Julie's life, her mother, Carol, gave a wonderful talk discussing what she would have liked to tell Julie if she had one more day with her precious daughter and best friend. This was followed up with remembrances of Julie offered by her brothers, Chris and Greg. With Carol's permission, I am reprinting Carol's thoughts in the next post.

Video Link:  http://www.photoshow.com/watch/xN5mq5MZ