It’s been a hard week at The Times and Democrat. We lost a member of our family over the weekend with the passing of Larry Jones in a fire.

We’re a closely knit workplace, even though we’re practically a 24-hour operation spread over seven days. Many members of this work-family have been around for 20-30-40 years or more. Larry was a relative newcomer, having started at The T&D the week before Christmas almost two years ago.

But what an impact he made in a relatively short period of time! Besides keeping up with the day-to-day operations of a complicated facet of our business, he took on a major project this past year, researching then implementing a major expansion of delivery into the Allendale-Fairfax markets with single-copy racks and dealer locations. But he was also a man with tons of personality and an innate likability. There he was, manning the grill at our monthly employee cookouts then asking the blessing before the meal. Not only did he master his job of single-copy manager, he was well known and well liked by co-workers throughout the building.

Following are some comments from a few of them:

* Circulation director Barbara West-Ravenell: Larry knew a lot about the ins and outs of the sales part of the business. He was very professional. When a route was down or there was some other issue in single copy, if Larry said he would handle it, you could rest assured that it would get handled. But there was another side of Larry; he was also the jokester in the department. He always was the person to keep everyone laughing and he had the funniest laugh himself. I told him I never knew someone like him who could laugh just as hard at his own jokes as the person he was telling it to. Larry played a special and important part in the circulation department. He was great at what he did and we in the circulation department have lost a big part of our team. We will always remember his dedication and professionalism. We were blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Mr. Larry Jones. We definitely will MISS him.

* Georgianne Walton: Larry was a pleasure to know and to work with, always willing to help in any way. He was very serious about his job and did a good job. He was one of those people that always smiled. One of my last memories is seeing him laughing so hard that he had tears rolling down his face! I remember him asking the nicest blessing at our last employee gathering. He loved life and talked so fondly of his family. The Times and Democrat family will miss him very much.

* Roger M. Hughes: I have lost a true friend and partner at work to a tragic accident at his home. When we left work Friday we had planned out our work day for Monday and he seemed so happy and was looking forward to the weekend. Who would have thought that we would never see him again? To a true friend, we will miss Larry very much.

* Barbara Campbell: In the late afternoons around 5 p.m. when everyone was winding down, Larry would come back to the office. When he got downstairs, he would stop and say “All rise, ladies and gentlemen, The president of the United States.” Of course we all laughed. It never failed to perk us up. This was typical of his brand of humor. Larry will be greatly missed by all of us.

* Dorothy Thomas Smith: I saw Larry at the post office Friday afternoon, not knowing that would be the last time that I saw him. He has been a dear friend of mine for many years even before he came to work at the newspaper. We are all shocked and will miss him very much.

* Vicky Kyzer: We’ve all heard the saying while growing up that “laughter is the best medicine.” I don’t have a funny story but the memory I have of Larry is his laughter. He seemed to enjoy his work and his colleagues. Whenever someone would tell a joke or funny story he would get so tickled that he just couldn’t stop laughing. He had the kind of laugh that was contagious. Our world would be a much happier place if everyone had the laughter and zest for life like Larry had. He will be missed.

* Carla Hall: A few months ago I attended a circulation training class in Columbia. Barbara Campbell and I sat in on the first session and then Larry joined us for the second. All it took was for the instructor to ask one question of Larry and off he went! Barbara and I said, “you’ve got him started now!” He had the whole class cracking up. And that’s the way he was at The T&D.

Whenever you heard “tears-rolling-down-the-face” laughter break out, you could be certain it was Larry Jones! If he wasn’t laughing at someone else, he was cracking himself up! I’ll always remember his smile and that laughter.

* Donna Baltzegar: Probably everyone has commented about Larry joking about being the president of the United States and saying, “All rise.” Larry was easy to get along with and always worked to keep the single copy going well. Any questions I had about dealers, he was always there to solve any problems and keep things going smoothly. I believe he was a good family man and certainly a real pleasure to work with. We will miss him tremendously.

* Susan M. Shaffer: When I heard about Larry’s death, it broke my heart. I knew that I would no longer get to see his lovely smile or hear him laugh at someone’s joke so hard that it made him cry. Larry was the type of person who knew how to enjoy life. So many times we take for granted the person who sits beside us or around us but we shouldn’t because we never know if we will see that person again. I just hope Larry knew how much he meant to everyone.

* Lyn Crosland: Larry was a very likeable guy with a good personality. He always seemed to be happy. He had an infectious laugh! I can still see him with tears rolling down his face from laughing so hard! We will all miss him.

* Rick Rickenbaker: He was a great fellow and a friend to everyone. He was well respected and always neat as a pin. I will miss him.

* Beverly Price: My fondest memory of Larry Jones was his routine of “nobody get up, Mr. President is coming through” and I would say, “President Bush, did you bring our rebate checks with you?” One day I returned to work after taking a few vacation days and Larry said, “Beverly, it sure was mighty quiet in here last week; when are you going on vacation again?” He also told Barbara Campbell and me that he was going to terminate our employment with The T&D because we were chatting too much. This was Larry, the teasing and joking fellow who was always kind to all of us. He will truly be missed.

From these comments it sounds as though Larry might have had a successful career in politics. In this election year, maybe he could have become, “Mr. President.” He certainly had the charisma to win our votes.

But Larry has left us now, long before we were ready to tell him goodbye. It’s going to be “mighty quiet” at The T&D without Larry. There are fond memories and pictures and sounds of him in our minds. Who can say what it’s like at the entrance to heaven? Is there a gate of pearls, a street of gold? In my mind, I can imagine a shiny new orange newspaper rack with The T&D brightly painted on the sides. It’s just inside the pearly gate outside of a busy store on that golden main street. Of course there’s today’s newspaper inside. And as our friend Larry Jones arrives, I can see his face break into that likeable laugh with tears running down his cheeks as he reads the headline that proclaims in bold type: “Welcome home, Larry!”

T&D Publisher Cathy Hughes can be reached at chughes@timesanddemocrat.com and 803-533-5535.

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