Paparjoned

@Royal3 I love when someone describes him the way you did. As his youngest brother, we were 12 years apart, Les was a brother but also a second father figure for me. Growing up we all worked for my father's side business and got to hang out more than most and it is some of my favorite memories, along with bowling of course (his second hobby love). He used to tell us about the marble shows when he was starting out as a collector (working the Railroad Tower at Van Loom) searching the internet and learning the industry. His love for marbles stemmed from my father growing up poor in the hills of Tennessee and the one thing they collected and bartered was marbles and steelies. My dad would bury the marbles he won and Les traveled down there numerous times trying to locate those old, buried marbles just to have as part of his collection. Thanks for taking me a little further down memory lane and reinforcing who Les was in the marble community. Rog (or Griz as he fondly referred to me as)

Appreciate any and all responses. Many of you left such wonderful words when he passed. The marbles I keep in my office are just a few that he gifted me on occasion that were not of much value other than he wanted to share. The high value marbles and a couple of full sets Sue gave me after he passed, before she parted with the majority of his collection, are stored. Here are the simple marbles I keep close by. I don’t think there is value in these but thought I would post anyway. As info, the first file with the multicolored marble with all the air bubbles in the swirl actually contains some of Les’s ashes that were put into the marble to honor him by Sue. It’s a treasure. Thanks for the responses and story. Roger

All, Les Jones was my oldest brother. Loved him dearly. I was recently going down memory lane, looking through some cherished materials,etc., and found myself linking into The Marble Connection. I thought I would post this in hopes that some of those who knew Les might search the archives and share any pictures or stories with me. I would love to pass an along to my remaining siblings and to pass along to Les’s children. Unfortunately, our parents passed, Rachel passed as well. You were all such a huge part of his life and the marbles he gave me sit proudly in my office as a reminder of his passion and legacy. I also carry a cherished switching key he had from the EJ&E railroad with me for those of you that heard his many RR stories. I can be reached at [email protected]. Be blessed and thank you. Roger Jones