Christiane Marie Jones

Christiane, “Chris”, Marie (Marcelin) Jones was born in Lyon, France on June 18, 1932.

She was predeceased by her mother, Marie-Louise (Lisa) Marcelin, and her father, Louis-Claudius Marcelin, her brother Francois Henri Ernest Philippe Marcelin, and her loving husband, Michael Francis Jones.  She is survived by both of her daughters, Claudine Francoise-Anne Jones Rafferty and Michele Laurie-Anne Jones and their children, Evan Michael Rafferty, Deirdre Margaret Rafferty, Danielle Elizabeth (Jones) McAdam [Bradley] and Kendra Marie Jones, her great grandson Brody Jay McAdam, her sister-in-law’s Margaret (Jones) Carroll and Nicole Marcelin, nephew’s Mark, Mike, and Peter Seigle and Pascal Marcelin, nieces Catherine and Juliette Marcelin, Blandine (Marcelin) Benazech and many great-nephews and great-nieces.

Christiane attended a private Catholic girl’s school in Lyon as a child and spent her summers at a Catholic Convent.  During World War II, she was sent to the country to live with a family for safety as was the practice of many families since the City of Lyon was frequently bombed, and she was later reunited with her family after the war.  In 1951, with her adventurous spirit, Christiane (Chris) moved to London, England to study English and worked as an ‘Au Pair’.  She later moved to Exminster, Devon to attend the Exe Vale Hospital Psychiatric School of Nursing and graduated in 1956.  While working at the hospital, she met the love of her life, Michael (Mike) Jones, at a dance held by the nursing staff. Chris and Mike were soon engaged and upon Mike’s return from an 18-month expedition to Antarctica on a whaling ship, they moved to London in 1957, where Chris worked at the Royal Free Hospital.  They were married a year later in August 1958, with both a civil ceremony at the Kensington Registry in London, England, and a full Catholic ceremony at L’Eglise de la Redemption (Church of Redemption) in Lyon, France, recognizing their wedding anniversary as August 19, 1958. 

With their adventurous spirits, they emigrated to New York State in 1958, initially settling in New Rochelle and later moving to Mamaroneck, both in Westchester County, where they met many lifelong friends.  In 1962, shortly after their first daughter, Claudine, was born, they purchased a 200-year-old colonial house in Wilton, Connecticut, which proved to be a labor of love for the next 20 years.  Their second daughter, Michele, was born in 1964 and the family spent many happy years together in the “Wilton house”, connecting with friends and neighbors throughout the Wilton community.   Chris became involved with activities at the Wilton Playhouse, Minks to Sinks Sale, and served as an Assistant Girl Scout Leader.

It was not long until Mike’s job provided opportunities for overseas travel to numerous countries in Europe, including Amsterdam and The Hague, Netherlands; London, England (1973 – 1975); and Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa (1975 – 1977), each time the family returning to spend summers at the Wilton house between work assignments and finally again in 1977.  With each new work assignment, Chris coordinated and organized all the overseas moves and arrangements for private school attendance for both Claudine and Michele.  Chris also ensured that both girls were fully exposed to the culture and history of each country with many day trips and excursions to museums, Capital and historic cities and other culturally significant events and places.   Chris (and Mike) made many lifelong friends throughout their overseas travels and these friendships were celebrated with great zest and vigor at numerous weekend dinner parties and barbecues. In 1979, Mike’s last work assignment was to Houston, Texas and the transition spanned several years until the Wilton house was sold and the family was able to join him in 1981, where they resided in Quail Valley of Missouri City, Texas. 

While living in Missouri City, Chris became an avid tennis player and member of the Quail Valley Tennis Club (now the Missouri City Recreation and Tennis Center) where she made many friends and secured several tennis trophies.  Chris continued to enjoy traveling and frequently visited the east coast each year to see her daughters and her grandchildren, who lovingly called her “Mimi”.  Chris also enjoyed several family trips to the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico, and a cruise with friends to Honduras.  Chris moved to The Plantation in Quail Valley in September 2013 where she volunteered at the neighboring ARC, enjoyed shopping and dining with friends, and happy hour poolside chats with friends and acquaintances.  Chris’ good natured demeanor was treasured, and her bright smile, quick wit and sense of humor will be missed by so many of her friends and family.  Chris died on June 28, 2022, just 10 days after her 90th birthday. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Christiane Marie Jones, please visit our floral store.