Aug. 8, 1954 – April 16, 2021
Denise Lynette Hayes Jones, age 66, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on April 16, 2021 in St George, Utah. Denise was born to Mary Diane DeRevere and Thomas Stuart Jones on Aug. 8, 1954 in Corona, California. She married John Thomas Hayes on Feb. 12, 1971 in San Bernardino, CA. After 36 years of marriage, her husband John passed away. She later married Harold Alan Jones on Jan. 10, 2010.
She was a wonderful older sister to two brothers and a sister and was raised in Big Bear, California. She was very close to her maternal grandparents and those relationships inspired her love of family history later in her life. She was active in the Methodist church while growing up and graduated from Big Bear High School.
She joined her husband John in Turkey where he was stationed in the Air Force. While there, she was baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was sealed to John in the Switzerland LDS Temple. She was an active member for the rest of her life and a beloved leader for the young women and primary organizations.
When they returned to the United States in 1973, they lived for 16 years in Highland, California, where they raised four girls and a boy and she was a second mother to John’s youngest sister, Marlynn Bayer. In 1991, they moved to Running Springs, California, where they resided for almost 30 years. She worked as a teacher’s aide and then later as a Postal Clerk for 20 years.
She was a wonderful, loving wife and mother who valued everyone who crossed her path and treated them with kindness, compassion and generosity. She had many close friendships and spent time cultivating those and planned vacations to meet up with her friends. Denise and John had a loving 37 years together.
Harold and Denise were good high school friends and reconnected after their spouses passed away. They lived a few years in Running Springs and then part time in Hurricane. They fell in love with Hurricane and moved there full time in 2020. Denise loved spending time making blankets and quilts for friends and family. She sent cards and gifts to everyone she met.
She had a gift for making others feel cared for. She loved musicals and has shared that love with her family, including attending shows at Tuacahn in Ivins, Utah, with Harold. She had a great sense of humor, contagious laugh and a love of life. She is a wonderful grandmother to 23 and honorary grandmother to every child she meets.
She is survived by her husband, Harold Alan; children, Crystal Dyan Hayes (Tony), Heather Ann Somoza (Ronaldo), Kelly Lynn Marker (Jeff), Shelly Suzanne Peterson (Nate), Erik George Hayes (Leslie), Bryan Jones (Erin) and Jason Jones; her siblings, Thomas Dell Jones and Steven Scott Austin; and her 23 grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, John; her parents; and sister, Brenda Suzanne Jones.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 1 p.m. at the Metcalf Mortuary Chapel, 288 West St. George Blvd., St. George, Utah. A visitation will be held Tuesday, prior to services, from 11:30 a.m. -12:45 p.m. at the mortuary.
Live streaming web-cast is available at www.metcalfmortuary.com by clicking on the obituary, then click on broadcast at the bottom. Web-cast will remain on-line for 90 days.
Graveside services will be held Monday, May 3, 2021 at 11 a.m. at Montecito Memorial Park, 3520 East Washington Street, Colton, California.
Arrangements entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221. Please visit our website at www.metcalfmortuary.com for condolences, complete obituary and funeral listings.