Obituary - Eva Leona Jones Fox, Oyada Ode, 'Many Nations'

Eva Leona Jones Fox, 82, Assiniboine name, Oyada Ode, "Many Nations," left this earth to be with our loving creator August 11, 2019, of natural causes, surrounded by her family in her home.

Wake services will be held Thursday, August 15, 2019, at 7 p.m. at St. Paul's Mission Recreation Center in Hays. Funeral Mass will be held Friday, August 16, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at St. Paul's Mission Church.

Arrangements have been made with Wilderness Funeral Home in Chinook.

Leona was born Jan. 22, 1937, to Cecil and Evangeline (Turcotte) Jones. She was raised in Chinook, attending school at Chinook and St. Paul Mission High School and received her GED after leaving school to get married. Leona became a cook at the Hays School until she retired in 1996. She later un-retired and worked as a library aide for another 15 years.

Leona married Stephen Fox in 1954 and built their home at the foothills of the Little Rockies, and started a ranching operation at the Fox Place. Their union was blessed with nine children.

Mom enjoyed playing bingo and going to the casino to play the machines. Her biggest joy was spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. She had a great sense of humor and loved to visit her family and friends. She maintained the Veteran's Park in Hays for many years.

She is survived by her sons, Steve "Shelly" (Tescha) of Three Buttes, Curtis, Cecil and Mike "Gopher" (Delina) and Justin of Hays, Everall (Melissa) of Flandreau, SD; daughters, Shannon, Rosie and Brittney (Dennis) of Hays; family she helped raise, grandchildren Curtis Jr., Colleen and Kaci; great-grandchildren Gavin and Alden; nephews Curtis Jorgenson and Lyman Cheney; 24 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren; special friends and cousins, Lois "Petey" Snell, Sylvia Heppner, Ione Bell, Cindy Gone and daughters-in-law, Geraldine Fox and Katherine Fox.

Leona was preceded in death by her husband, Stephen, son William "Billy" Fox, mother Evangeline (Turcotte) Jones, father, Cecil Jones, brothers Cecil "Buck" Jones, James, "Jimmy" Jones and Medric Jones; sisters Ilene Cheney, Jean Mae Shambo, Vernie Jones, Thelma Jones, Barbara Werk, and Sharon Quincy; two nephews she helped raise, Loren and Marvin Cheney and an adopted son, Greg Werk.