Obituary of Sandra Ruth Jelm

Early morning on Wednesday, September 18^th, Sandra Ruth Jelm (Sandy), loving mother of two children passed away at age 61.

Sandy was born on August 3^rd, 1958 in Ottawa, IL to Donald Leslie Jelm and Ruth Iola Jelm, their only daughter and third of four children. Sandy graduated from the Illinois Wesleyan University nursing program in 1980 and made a career in nursing and risk management. On September 22^nd, 1984, she married Carl Winton Jones. They raised two children, Collin and Caroline.

Sandy was an avid gardener and regularly created gorgeous arrangements to the delight of her friends and family. She had a passion for cooking delicious meals that made her guests continuously ask for her recipes. Her many creative talents included cross-stitching, scrapbooking and planning fundraising galas. She loved a quality glass of pinot noir, reading historical fiction and attending theatre performances. Her greatest quality was her caring nature.

Sandy was preceded in death by her father, Donald, and her mother, Ruth. She is survived by her two children, Collin and Caroline, and her brothers, Steve, Jeff, and Doug. Donations in her honor for ovarian cancer research may be sent to Mayo Clinic by phone, mail or online at https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/donatemc.

It’s taken my sister, Caroline, and myself (Collin), awhile to post our mom’s obituary. As the writer in our family, I’ve had it written now since her passing, but no amount of words can describe how incredible a person, friend, and mother she was. We miss our mother dearly, and it still hurts to look at photos and talk about her with people, and so actually submitting her obituary has been harder for both of us than we imagined. However, the holiday season was our mother’s favorite time of the year, and she always made it so special for us. It will be different this year, but our amazing mother would have wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. My sister and I would ask everyone who knew her to keep her spirit alive in their hearts as they celebrate with family and friends.