Carolee Jones Obituary (1939 - 2012)

Carol Leah (Carolee) Grace Jones, 73, passed away on September 23, 2012, in Tucson, AZ after a very courageous battle with cancer. Her attitude and determination to continue in spite of all her trials were inspirational to everyone who knew her. Carolee was the only daughter of Clifford and Edna (Langdon) Sibilsky of Lake Linden, MI. She was the valedictorian of her Lake Linden High School class and graduated cum laude in only three years from Northern Michigan University as a high school business teacher. She attained her PhD in education from the University of Minnesota. Her professional career as a high school and college educator spanned 39 years. She was an Assistant Professor at Northern Michigan University and then moved to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana as a Professor of Business Communications. With research and innovation, she developed a new teaching method for business communication that was implemented in high schools throughout Indiana. During that time, she was acknowledged as an outstanding researcher in her area. In addition, she was honored with several awards for teaching excellence, being selected by national groups, her peers and her students. She served as Chairperson for a national education association for three years. While at Ball State she wrote a textbook entitled "Terminology for Health Professionals" which has been updated and reissued five times and is still used in colleges today and one entitled "PAWS with Language Arts" for grade school students. While teaching in Indiana, through a happy coincidence, she met her husband Ron Jones, who she named "the love of her life." After her retirement, she and Ron relocated to Tucson, AZ, where they began a second career working together with publishers editing textbooks. They also acted as consultants to businesses with other colleagues. Ron preceded her in death in 2010. Carolee was a woman of faith. In her retirement she was active as a Stephen Minister at her church and constantly pursued Bible classes. She had a pleasant personality. She believed that everyone chooses their reaction to what happens to them in life. She chose to be positive and optimistic. She was caring and wise and always available to counsel and help others. She and her endearing ways will be missed by many. Carolee is survived by a daughter, Cheryl (Chris) Scholz; a son, David Sormunen; two stepdaughters, Brenda (Joe) Myers and Amy Brust; and two stepsons, Adam (Angela) Jones and Ryan (Beth) Jones and 12 grandchildren