Tom W0QF

Tom Jones—SK. Early on Tuesday morning, 8 April 2008,WŲQF passed away peacefully after battling a courageous fight against an aggressive cancer: acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Tom, with his loving wife Claudia and family members at his side, died in a hospice setting in Rochester where he had been treated much of the time. From his family we learned that he loved nature and the many outdoor activities it provided. Tom was a valuable employee of Hunt Technology in Pequot Lakes. Most of us in the Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club knew him a friendly member, a superb electronic engineer who loved to design and build electronic equipment, a volunteer license examiner (VE) for the American Radio Relay League, and a high-speed code (CW) operator. Needless to say, we in the BAARC (Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club) will miss his friendship. Of course, our sincerest condolences go out to all members of his loving family, his many fellow employees, and associates. de Fritz WŲKO

Funeral services were on Saturday, April 12th, in Hackensak, MN.

The funeral was a "Celebration for the Life of Thomas Anton Jones"

From CaringBridge: "Thomas Anton Jones passed over at 1:30 this morning. He’d been moved to the Seasons Hospice facility early Monday. What a blessing this location was for us. A retired doctor donated this home and it is now used for people in their last days. The home sits out in the woods, fairly secluded and in the short time we were there we saw wild turkeys, deer, and many gorgeous birds like woodpeckers and nuthatches. Although Dad was not conscious most of the day yesterday, we described his surroundings and teased him that he’d better not be shooting any of those turkeys because it might be a bit traumatic to the nurses and residents, as seeing the turkeys is like a nightly ritual there.

I have so much to say but just can’t find the words today. I think it is because my emotions are so extremely opposing. On the one hand, I feel as if a huge burden was lifted; Dad no longer is burdened with a diseased body and he’s free from that damn cancer. The pain of seeing Dad deteriorate in front of us was almost unbearable.

But on the other hand, to think of my Dadio no longer being a part of my life…no one to check my tire pressure, nag me about having a 401K, buy me the cutting edge outdoor wear (really I have coats that I could climb Mt. Everest with), share absurd Monty Python laughs with…it’s just too much.

Dad’s buddy Matt said it simplest yesterday, “My WI turkey license came in the mail on Saturday...I just sat and cried.”

The funeral will be Saturday in Hackensack and I’ll update you as I get more details.

We received some special cards in the mail yesterday from some of Dad’s work buddies. I’ll end this journal update with the front from one of them. It’s quite fitting.

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly"

Rene (daughter of Tom Jones)

Eulogy for Tom Jones presented at his funeral on 4-12-08 in Hackensack, MN.—de Fritz WŲKO

First, we offer our sincerest condolences to all the family members. You can all be proud of the quality person Tom was in your large family. In addition, I know you will have many good memories to sustain you. I am going to address only part of the dash between 1939 and 2008.

Yes, we are celebrating a life here—the life of Tom Jones. To us hams---hams is the term we use to refer to Amateur Radio operators---Tom was a special person—he was WŲQF, holding the top amateur license the FCC issues.

Also—and equally important, we recognize his electronic abilities: You know that he was an engineer—a valued and quality employee at Hunt Technologies. In later years he developed a special love for using low-power to make radio contacts. At camping or Field Day events he would make many more contacts using only code to rack up a high score.

For the BAARC Tom participated in test sessions where he was a volunteer examiner.

On a personal note I want to say how bravely Tom fought this cancer. In doing so many of us commented how he never complained, how he kept his spirits up and managed to find humor in spite of trying circumstances. Of course, a strong faith in his Savior is the key.

Also by now Tom surely has found the ham radio room among the many mansions the Lord talks about in the Scripture. After all, we hams know that the key to communications is location, location, location!!!!!

Thanks to Rene’, Tanya, and other family members, we were able to share in those special moments, those family experiences, those times--whether hopeful or not--all due to the many messages sent by means of the CaringBridge Web site.

Through his health ordeal, Tom taught all of us how to die. I trust and pray that some of his positive spirit will rub off on us all as we gather to remember him. When he was at our house in January, I found out that he had spent some time in Germany, so I told him when he left that day that I am not going to say good-bye---instead, Auf Wiedersehen! This is the approximate equivalent of good-bye, but it carries with it an extra, more important meaning: that of a reunion, of seeing one another again. Thus, it is not final. He liked that thought when I explained it. Upon leaving that day he said Auf Wiedersehen to me. Truly, we all want to see each other again---in Heaven.

On that note of signing off, we hams use the letters SK at the very end of the CW sending, when the conversation is done. These letters have special meaning. It is also the symbolic designation of a ham radio operator who has died—referred to as a SILENT KEY. So sending the letters SK together at the end means that the key is now silent, no more transmissions will be sent or heard. Consequently, with Tom’s death the station of WŲQF here on Earth is permanently silent. So---Tom--- we will all be warmly thinking of you whenever we send SK—didididahdidah.