Delbert Evan Jones

Delbert died at home on Monday, 8/3, of a constellation of illnesses when his efforts to remain with us proved futile. He had regretfully relinquished these efforts less than two weeks before when he received a terminal diagnosis, but until the end was always very clear about one thing: He liked it here, and would have preferred to stay. Delbert grew up on a Pennsylvania diary farm, which inspired his later enjoyment of painting barns, flowers and animals. In his glowing, primitive artwork he was also influenced by Gaugin and the Fauves of the early 20th century – known as the “wild beasts” for their vivid use of color. He graduated from Delaware Valley College in 1972, served stateside in the Marines for two years during the Vietnam War, and then came to Virginia Tech in 1975 and earned his Master’s Degree. He then remained at VT as a Research Supervisor until retirement. His special fields of interest were biochemistry and animal nutrition. Marrying Johanna [Sherwood] in 1985 after a 7-month courtship, they embarked on a parallel journey of self-discovery which occasionally placed them in conflict but resulted, overall, in over 40 years of enduring love and mutual respect. Delbert and Johanna always had gardens, designed and tended by Delbert, as well as animals; at the time of his death, they owned three dogs, one cat, a miniature donkey with an attitude, and four chickens. He was a Master Gardener from the 1980s on, and embraced other hobbies including gourd art, antique toy collecting, cooking – he was an excellent amateur chef - collecting vintage postcards and natural artifacts, and (until recently) dog walks on his forested 29-acre property. Dearest to his heart, though, were his friends, and he loved parties! In his last, more quiet years, he spent time planting and caring for container gardens, going to his weekly art group, and expressing baffled fury at the current administration, but more often finding humor and delight online watching America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent, Australia's Got Talent, Holland's Got Talent, etc. Despite the deep sadness that came into his life at times, Delbert genuinely and consistently found the world to be a very enjoyable place. A Memorial Celebration of Life will be held at McCoy Funeral Home in Blacksburg at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 16th, followed by a brief visitation at the same facility. Consider wearing bright colors, which Delbert loved, and if you have any nice garden flowers that you could put in a vase and which you’d like to donate, please feel free to deliver them to McCoy that morning, or bring them to the service to be placed on display.