The BritishV8 Pub

This in from Tony Burgess

Subject: ERIC JONES - VERY SAD NEWS
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:55:59 -0400


>> Just wanted to let you know that I just received word of
>> the passing of Eric
>> Jones late this afternoon after the 2008 Riverside Motors
>> Summer Party.
>>
>> Today saw 270 people attend Eric and Susan's Summer
>> party as a tribute and
>> recognition of thanks for all they have done for the
>> British Car community.
>>
>> As you may be aware, Eric has been fighting Mesothelioma
>> for a number of
>> months.
>>
>> Eric, and his wife Susan, have been the foundation of
>> British Cars in Ohio
>> and the Midwest for many years and he will surely be
>> missed. Our thoughts and
>> prayers go out to Susan, friends and family.
>>
>> As more information becomes available, I will pass it
>> along.
>>
>> (This message is being sent BCC'd to the Ohio British
>> Car Councils as well
>> as a number of British Car Clubs. Please pass along).
>>
>> Tony Burgess
>>

Folks,

Some people have asked about making a donation in Eric's name to the cancer research fund. Below is the information supplied by Susan.

Thanks again for all your e-mails and support.

--------------------------------------------------

Checks should be made to The James Cancer Hospital for Cancer Research. The designated fund is 310578, which is Dr. Villalona's cancer research fund.

The James Development Office
660 Ackerman Road
P.O. Box 183112
Columbus, OH 43218-3112

Additional information is available at: [www.jamesline.com]
==========================================

(Being sent to the Ohio British Car Councils and several British Car Clubs - please pass along as necessary)

THX
Tony Burgess
===============================================

(From Susan 8/28/08)

Hello everyone,

More than 270 friends, British car enthusiasts and British Trade Associates, ralliests, and former employees joined Eric and I for the 16th Riverside Motors Summer Party. Eric enjoyed seeing the gathering and was able to be on the porch for two hours and talk with many of the attendees, but his health/condition limited his participation in the party. We had more than 82 vintage English cars in the yard and a minimum of 75 non-English cars in the field. Chuck Ashton has shared his pictures of the Summer Party. As always, Chuck has created another great record of a marvelous day.

Some of you are aware that as of 7:00 Sunday evening, Eric is no longer with us. He must have set the party as his goal as he was alert and sharing observations until 6:00, when nearly all of the guests and the volunteers that made the party happen had departed, at that time he closed his eyes for a nap and didn't wake up.

Eric and I were aware shortly after his diagnosis last October that mesothelioma is uncommon and difficult cancer for which a cure has not been discovered, but we decided to hope that a cure would magically appear during his treatment, but that was not to be. I appreciate the support that we received during his illness and that I have received since he died.

Chuck Ashton is planning to create a web picture collection and would like to receive pictures that you might have of Eric in action. Chuck's e-mail address is crashton@columbus.rr.com. His U.S. mail address is 251 N. Vine Street, Westerville, OH 43081.

Attached (below) is a copy of the obituary.

Susan
==============================================

DELAWARE -- Eric K. Jones, 65, Delaware, died at 7 p.m. Sunday, August 24, 2008, after a lengthy illness. Mr. Jones, a British car mechanic and former owner of British Auto Service and Overseas Motors in Columbus, was active in numerous motor sports associations. He died a few hours after his annual Summer Party, held for his British car customers and friends. More than 250 people attended the event, at which the 1972 Datsun 510 he was restoring to drive in a rally in Great Britain this December, was exhibited. He had rallied a Datsun 510 from 1971 through 1984.



The cause of death was mesothelioma cancer due to asbestos exposure experienced through his years as a car mechanic.



Born December 16, 1942, in Akron, he was the son of Paul C. and ­­­­Felicia C. (Filipiak) Jones. He is survived by his wife, Susan Logan, and his two cats, Morris and Austin. He is predeceased by his parents and shop cat, Bruiser.



Following graduation from West Geauga High School in 1959, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served for four years, learning welding as a trade. He spent a year of that time on Okinawa.



Following his discharge as a corporal, he entered The Ohio State University where he helped reactivate the OSU Sports Car Club. He graduated from OSU in 1970 with a bachelor of science in social work.



Mr. Jones spent many years competing in Sports Car Club of America ProRally events. For the past several years, he drove in LEJOG, a rally in Great Britain extending from Lands End, England, to John O’ Groats, Scotland.



A voracious reader, Mr. Jones devoured books at the rate of several a week. Each year, he reread The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien and counted the Sherlock Holmes series among his favorites. His attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation identified errors on signs, billboards, and menus wherever he traveled.



His loyalty and attention to friends were legendary. Many were surprised over the years by unexpected gifts of books, magazines, travel literature, and compact discs. Many of the young men who worked for him were “adopted” as sons, and were distinguished from one another by a unique numbering system. Those he admired, such as Pete Seeger, were sent birthday cards every year without fail. He donated to a number of organizations which helped promote lost arts and workmanship, conservation, and social causes.



Eric was passionate about auto rallies. Between 1961 and 1970, Eric competed regularly in Time, Speed, Distance (TSD) rallies at local, divisional and national level. At times he would run as many as three events in a weekend. His interest evolved from the TSD rallies to pro rally events. A consistent finisher, Eric drove in pro rally style events across the United States and Canada from 1970 to1985. He won the 1977 Susquehannock Trail Pro Rally and was 5th in the Rally of The Rideau Lakes, which was on the World Championship Calendar in 1974.



Mr. Jones was a founder of the Columbus Rally Club and a founding member of the Central Ohio Rally Club. He was involved in the Scioto Sports Car Club, Buckeye Sports Car Club, Central Ohio MG Owners, the Central Ohio Mini Owners, and the Mid-Ohio Austin Healey Club. He was a club delegate to the Austin Healey Club of America, and he and his wife Susan planned numerous driving tours for British car enthusiasts. He was the chief organizer of a number of TSD events for SCCA and local clubs, including the Columbus Alley Rally for 30 years. In 1966 he started the Sunriser Forest Rally, which ran in Southern Ohio for many years. The 1982 event won the SCCA Rally-of-the-Year Award.



There will be no funeral service or calling hours. Memorial contributions can be made to The James Cancer Hospital fund 310578 for Dr. Villalona, P.O. Box 183112, Columbus, OH 43218-3112; or Highlands Nature Sanctuary, 7629 Cave Road, Bainbridge, OH 45612

Pictures from Eric Jones Summer Party....

[crashton.smugmug.com]