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Pamela Neville Jones
Date of Death: August 13, 2018
Date of Birth: June 29, 1934
Biography:
Pamela Neville Jones died on August 13th after a long stay in what she referred to as a nice hotel with free food and great staff. Everyone else called it a nursing home. Surrounded by family she took her last breath. Her daughters bathed her, wrapped her in a cocoon of white cotton, tucked in love notes and draped a woven shroud over her. Beautiful pale flowers surrounded her face, a photo of her children placed under her silver hair, a last kiss, a last goodbye. The end of an era.Born in 1934 in Niagara Falls, Pam found her calling in art school, obtaining a degree in Fine Art in 1957. As a working artist in Buffalo, Pam was well respected, talented andrecognized. She painted big bold abstracts, made beautiful prints and lovely loose drawings. She had a close circle of artist friends and they shared a studio together.She was avant-garde. Short hair, fox fur, Marimekko. She wore paper dresses of the time and had danish furnishings at home.1960 brought an unplanned pregnancy, a swift marriage to John K Jones and five more unplanned pregnancies in quick succession. By 1970, Pam found herself in Massachusetts broke and single, with six kids in tow. The winter rental was up and she was looking for a new home. In the laundromat she came across a classified ad in the New York Times: $100 a month / rent to own / no down payment / owner financing. There was nothing to lose. She landed in the center of a small village, Mt Vernon, Maine. And so began a new chapter, one of rich friendships and strong community, but also of poverty and hardship.Pam could be found in her kitchen, coffee cup in hand, an open book, a letter in the works, a drawing half done, dirty dishes in the sink, no food in the cupboard, deep in conversation with a friend.She was a late night coffee drinker, an intellectual, politically engaged and a sparring conversationalist. She was a vivacious reader and a prolific letter writer. She possessed a sharp wit and a strong moral compass. She was charismatic, spontaneous and generous. She once spent her last dollar on a rootbeer float.Pam could also be difficult and cantankerous. She could be fierce and stubborn and hold a grudge. She could be jealous. She wasn't always easy, but she was always herself.Pam was a champion of the underdog and an ardent liberal. She taught deaf children, she worked with nursing home residents. She always continued to make artwork, her creativity and generosity were endless. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends, and never forgotten.She leaves behind six children : Alison Jones and her partner Wayne Waterson, John Jones and his partner Joanne Dunn, Courtney Ferrell and her husband Tim Ferrell, Caitlin Mushial and her husband Erik Mushial, Megan Jones and her partner Randall Baker, Caragh Spring and her husband Jeffrey Spring.And her grandchildren: Thomas Broome and his wife Meg Willing, Maisie Broome, Gabriella Ferrell, Wyatt Mushial, Marcella Felde, Eliot Felde, Sam Spring and Olivia Spring. She was preceded in death by her parents Harold and Dorothy Neville, her older brother James Courtney Neville and her twin brother Peter Neville.