Karen M. Jones

It is with grief and sadness that we share the news of the recent and unexpected death of Karen M. Jones, 67, of Phoenix, Arizona.

Karen was born April 4,1956, in Port Huron, Michigan, to Thomas R. and Lucille Jones. She was a 1974 graduate of Van Wert High School, where she was active in choir, sports, and GAA (Girls Athletic Association). She attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church and after graduation she worked at Teleflex.

In her early 20’s, Karen was drawn to the beauty of the western United States. She worked for Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming) before relocating to Arizona in the early 1980’s. Karen spent nearly all of her next 45 years living and working in Arizona.

She worked, lived life to the fullest and thrived at the Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim) and the village of Tusayan, Arizona until late 1999, where she established lifelong friendships, memories and land baroness status, owning her “beloved ranch” south of Tusayan, Arizona. She then relocated to Phoenix and Scottsdale.

In all her years in Arizona, she was employed in some aspect of the hospitality or travel industry– Grand Canyon Airlines, South Rim Travel, Grand Canyon National Park Lodges (Fred Harvey/Amfac), several helicopter companies and many global corporate travel companies including Carlson Wagonlit.

At the time of her passing, Karen was employed by Direct Travel, as a product support analyst, working remotely in a job she loved and thrived at. Karen was extremely proud of her time serving as an EMT at the Grand Canyon Airport, earning her paralegal certificate, continuing her education with online college courses and the many awards she had bestowed on her during her travel industry career.

Karen loved animals, she enjoyed her independent lifestyle and loved her family and friends.

Karen and her dog, April, were found deceased in their apartment on July 24, 2023. A non-functioning air conditioning unit led to her death of heat exposure. A tragic and senseless death, we continue to seek answers and mourn our loss. Karen was predeceased by her parents, a sister, Janet (Jones) Wyandt and brother-in -law, Philip Ramsey.

She is survived by siblings, T. Lindsay (Amy) Jones of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Retired Major James (Laura) Jones of Van Wert, and Jacqueline (Jones) Ramsey of Bullhead City, Arizona; a brother-in-law, Richard Wyandt; nieces and nephews, Heidi Jones, Tommie (Christa) Jones, Shannon Jones, Preston (Tammi) Ramsey, Ashley (Josh Smidt) Jones, Derek (Rebeka) Jones, Mackenzie Jones and Melissa Bloomfield; grand-nieces and nephews, Bryton and Jayden Smidt, Bobby and Reese Jones, Shalane and Matthew Ramsey, along with many cousins and extended family members, Christy (Schoenlein) Martin and family and Jonathon and family. Karen also leaves behind many friends and coworkers, especially David and Jackie.

She will be missed by all and was taken too soon.

The family will have a private memorial at a later date.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account, Karen Jones 1956-2023, organized by Jacqueline Ramsey.