Lois “Cookie” Jones died after a lengthy illness on February 20, 2013. She was born on June 30, 1921 as Lois Marie Germann of her parents, Martha Knechtel Germann and famed physical chemist, Dr. Frank E. E. Germann, in Boulder, Colorado. She grew up in Boulder and began her music instruction in Violin and Piano at an early age.
She attended the University of Colorado earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with Phi Beta Kappa followed by 2 Masters Degrees in Psychology and Music Performance by the age of 21. She taught briefly at George Washington Carver Junior High School in Los Angeles before returning to Boulder to marry Horace A. Jones, Professor of Music and Violin at the University. She performed frequently as part of the University Orchestra as well as chamber music.
She raised her stepson, Garth Jones and had 2 children of her own, Lorann and Frank. In 1962, Horace retired and the family moved to Ojai, California into a home that she designed and whose handmade stone walls she built are still standing today. In Ojai she was active in her children’s education and taught piano to many Ojai students including her future son-in-law, Raymond Sims, M. D. of Ojai. She also served on the board of the East Ojai Valley Association and San Antonio PTA.
In 1977 she and Horace moved to Montecito where she loved to walk on the beach and swim in the ocean. She remained there after Horace’s death in 1984 until 2011, and continued to play in several chamber groups. She was an active volunteer at the Montecito Historical Society and Child Help, served as a judge for the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition, and was an active board member and president of her condominium association.
In 2011 she moved back to Ojai to live at The Gables where she made new friends and enjoyed her final years. She was always a lady and charmed and inspired all of whom she met, and is already greatly missed. The family would like to especially thank the staff of the Medical Surgical wing of the Ojai Valley Community Hospital for their compassionate caring in her final days, the kind and gracious staff of The Gables, as well as for the outpouring show of support from the Ojai Community.
She is survived by daughter Lorann Sims and her husband Raymond Sims, M. D. of Ojai, and granddaughters Katherine Sims and Lauren Sims; son Frank Jones, wife Lynne, and grand daughter Holly of Wexford, Pennsylvania; and her stepson, Garth Jones of Boulder, Colorado. A private family celebration of her life is being planned for the future. Those wishing to honor her memory may make a donation to The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.
