Raymond Edward Jones (1906 - 1963)

Born 10 Jan 1906 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Amy Dorothy (Nott) Jones — married 21 Jul 1928 in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada

Descendants

Died 25 Feb 1963 at age 57 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Wendy Jones [send private message]

Biography

Raymond Jones was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Raymond Edward Jones was the fifth of eight children born to David Llewellyn Jones and Rosa Elizabeth Sage on January 10, 1906 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

1911 Census, Victoria City Sub-Districts 1-14, British Columbia, Canada, 1004 Catherine

• David Jones Head M 38 Wales
• Rosa Jones Wife F 33 British Columbia
• Lester Jones Son M 13 British Columbia
• Owen Jones Son M 12 British Columbia
• George Jones Son M 10 British Columbia
• Davy Jones Son M 7 British Columbia
• Raymond Jones Son M 5 British Columbia
• Viola Jones Daughter F 4 British Columbia
• Wilfrid Jones Son M 1 British Columbia

After the birth of brother's Wilfred (1910) and Gordon (1913), Raymond's father left for England to join WW1.

The family was left to struggle on their own and all the family chipped in to help support their mother, Rosa, to provide food and lodging. Raymond helped out with this as well.

At the end of the war, David Llewellyn Jones, did not come home. He didn't die, but a family rumor was he had been hit by a carriage in London and disabled. He never did come home to his family and not much was ever mentioned about him.

1921 Census, British Columbia Victoria (City) Sub-District 12, 779 Market St

• David Jones 49
• Rosa Jones 43
• Leslie Jones 23
• Owen Jones 21
• George Jones 19
• David Jones 17
• Raymond Jones 15
• Viola Jones 13
• Wilford Jones 11
• Gerdon Jones 7

I'm not quite sure 'why' David the father is entered, but he is not in Victoria.

About 1927, Viola (Ray's sister) was working at the jam factory and introduced him to Amy Nott. It was love at first sight.

They were married ^[1] July 28, 1928 in the Municipality of Saanich, British Columbia (a suburb of Victoria). Amy was 17 and Ray was 22. Family lore has it that my grandfather (Harry Amos Nott) gave permission to marry after Ray announced that if they weren't allowed to get married, he'd make darn sure that they HAD to get married.

1931 Canada Census, Colquitz, South Saanich, Sub District 52

• Raymond Jones Head Male Mar 25 Truck Driver Milk Factory Victoria BC
• Amy Jones Wife Female M 20 Homemaker Expanse Sask
• Muriel Jones Dau Female 2 Victoria BC

Ray ran a milk business called Victoria Cartage. He delivered milk all over Victoria and my sister, who he called Ginger, went with him on a lot of trips. When the brakes failed on his truck, he would stick his foot out the door and drag it, until the truck stopped. Eventually, he worked for Palm Dairies.

He was a trader of goods and services. If he wanted a table and chairs, he would trade the person for something he had, such as a refrigerator. I guess this came from the earlier life and having no money.

He belonged to the Elks Lodge in Victoria and had been in all of the chairs, including Exalted Ruler.

During the depression and WW2 he delivered milk to CFB Esquimalt. He got to be good friends with the boys and "things" were exchanged. In the days of rations, etc. it was always good to know someone, who knew someone. There were card parties at Ray and Amy's house. Some alcohol, chocolate, sugar, flour and hard to get items would turn up. As I said earlier, he was a trader.......

He participated in raising funds for charities, selling tickets and helping people out. He won a house in Kamloops and there was an article written in the newspaper in which my brother asked "Are we going to sell the house, dad?"

In 1948, the family moved to Nanaimo and Ray became the manager of Canfor Building Products on Pine St. It was across the railroad tracks from Nanaimo's Chinatown. My sister, was a teacher by then and my brother was in high school.

He joined the Elks in the Nanaimo Lodge and again sat all the chairs, including Exalted Ruler. The Elks Lodge had a lot to do with funding for children at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children in Victoria.

My mom and I would accompany my dad when he went on business trips. We would go to all the towns on the eastern side of Vancouver Island and even up to Tofino and Ucluelet, where we found Japanese glass balls from fisherman's nets on the beach.

On September 30, 1960, a fire broke out in the afternoon in one of the Chinatown area's restaurants. The fire raged on for over seven hours spreading to both sides of Pine Street.

My dad, mom and I went to the Canfor warehouse on Pine Street and there were firefighters on the roof of the building beating out sparks with burlap sacks. I remember being inside the building on the second floor watching the flames on the other side of the tracks, about three feet back from the window, as it was very hot.

There was a business meeting set up for February 26, 1963 at the Canfor main office in New Westminster, so my dad was going on the supper time ferry on February 25th. He wasn't feeling very well, but he kissed us good bye and left.

At about 9:30 that night, the RCMP knocked on our front door to tell us that my dad had passed away on the ferry.

He was officially declared dead at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver ^[2] . The funeral was organized by the Elks Lodge in Victoria. There were a lot of people there. He is buried at Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery Victoria, British Columbia.

Sources

1. ↑ https://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/b7feaa94-231c-49ae-8ca6-6510d763e0f4
2. ↑ https://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/6dd7df18-a2bd-4bc9-b695-11d9358a05bf

• 1911 Census - Citing this Record "Recensement du Canada de 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV95-3S8B : 16 February 2018), David Jones, 1911; citing Census, Victoria City Sub-Districts 1-14, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,663.
• 1921 and 1931 Census - Ancestry.ca
• Historical Chinatowns In Nanaimo
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/234099432/raymond-edward-jones: accessed 05 September 2022), memorial page for Raymond Edward Jones (10 Jan 1906–25 Feb 1963), Find A Grave: Memorial #234099432, citing Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery, Victoria, Capital Regional District, British Columbia, Canada; Maintained by Wendy Jones (contributor 47804073) .