Gurnal Arthur Jones III
12/13/1961 – 6/20/2016
Victor: Formerly of West Irondequoit. Gurnal went to be with the Lord after a long battle with Erdheim Chester Disease at age 54.
Gurnal is predeceased by his father, Gurnal Jr. Survived by his beloved wife of 19 years, Julie; children , Aidan and Alexis; mother, Geraldine; Mother and Father-in-law, Richard and Sharon Mark; sisters, Debbie Danquer, Bonnie Eaton, Becky (Bill) Waghorn; Sister-in-law, Tricia Morgan (Josh); nieces and nephews, James, Micheal, and Andrew Danquer, Douglas Eaton, Billy and Jennifer Waghorn, and Christina Morgan.
Gurnal was a loving husband, father, son, son-in-law, brother, uncle and friend. He was a very gentle, kind and sensitive man who also had a great sense of humor. He was always making others laugh. He put everyone before himself, never complained and was always positive. No mater how sick he was he always liked to tell a story about everyone in the room and always put them first.
Gurnal was born in Rochester New York to Gurnal and Geraldine Jones in 1961. He was the fourth child with three older sisters who adored him and will miss him more than words can say. He was very close to his father and especially close to his mother who he visited often and called daily. He would watch Syracuse basketball and the Yankees games with his mom.
He grew up in West Irondequoit and graduated from West Irondequoit High School in 1981. He was a all-star basketball player at IHS where he earned awards such as the Times Union Athlete of the Week in his sophomore year, Monroe County All country League of coaches All Star his sophomore, junior and senior years. He attended the Big Orange Basketball Camp at Syracuse University where he met Michael Jordan and the Five Star Basketball camp while in High School. He attended college at MCC for two years and St John Fisher College for his junior and senior year. He was MVP for his junior and senior years in college and his senior year at St. John Fisher he earned Player of the year and named to the 4th team in New York State.
While growing up, the Jones family spent their summers on Oneida Lake at their summer cottage. He loved playing golf with friends and his father, Gurnal. He loved swimming, fishing and boating and continued to spend time with his wife and children at the cottage where his mother Jerry still lives.
Gurnal went on to a successful career in marketing and communication. He starting working at UPS after college and then was a sales manager at Nabisco. After this he got into pharmaceutical sales. He was always the top in sales and won multiple trips for it. In 2002 he won the Wyeth Achievement Award. He currently worked at MPI Pharmaceuticals (Takeda) earning a Global Award in 2011 for top sales in the country. He won a trip to Japan but wasn’t able to attend due to his illness. Everyone that worked with Gurnal and met him fell in love with him. He was very dedicated to his job and the TAKEDA products that helped prolong the lives of cancer patients.
Gurnal was a loving husband and father. He met the love of his life, Julie and they married in 1997. Gurnal and Julie made their home in Victor, New York where they are raising their children, Aidan, 12 and Alexis, 10 who loved him dearly and will miss him greatly. Aidan just finished 6th grade at McQuaid Jesuit and Lexi just finished 5th grade at Victor Intermediate School. Gurnal and Julie loved to travel and vacationed with their children in places such as Australia, Hawaii, Bora Bora, Italy, Cayman Islands, Alaska, out West, Outer Banks and Hilton Head. They also loved to camp, hike, bike, and boat on Oneida, Canandaigua and Ontario Lakes. Gurnal had a tremendous love for water and boating. Gurnal loved golfing, working out, tennis and running. He also loved animals. He passed leaving his 2 French Bulldogs, a pot bellied pig named Charlotte, a chinchilla, 3 lizards, a snake and a pond full of fish and frogs.
Gurnal was the definition of inspiration, courage and selflessness. In 2012 Gurnal was diagnosed with a rare disease, Erdheim Chester Disease. Only 200 peoplein the world have been diagnosed with this rare disease categorized by excessive over-production and accumulation of histiocytes in the blood, which normally fight infection. Gurnal had pericardial and pleural effusions, liver and retroperitoneal fibrosis, kidney and liver disease and the past year developed myelofibrosis of his bone marrow. Gurnal won the Rochester Press Radio Club Christine Wagner Welch INSPIRATION Award on May 31, 2016. He accepted the award the same day he was discharged from the hospital after having an incarcerated hernia emergency surgery. He got up and gave a speech and told everyone to “Never Give Up”. He did this till the very last second of his life. Gurnal and Julie are active in the ECD Global Alliance, raising awareness of ECD. Friends and family have held multiple fundraisers to help the family and raise money for the ECD Global Alliance to help others. Gurnal fought through all the ups and downs of this disease and always remained positive. He had to travel to Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC and Cleveland Clinic for care.
Gurnal and Julie have many friends, family and doctors who they would like to thank for all their support during his illness. The support that they received has been overwhelming.
The family can not thank everyone enough for all your support the past 4.5 years with Gurnals’ illness. The support has been overwhelming. We are going to miss him terribly and want everyone to continue to remember all the good times with him and to try and be courageous and strong and positive like he was.
We invite everyone to come to celebrate his life at a luncheon at Ravenwood Golf Course in Victor after Funeral Mass, June 24, 2016, from 11-2. It is at 929 Lynaugh Road , Victor NY 14564. We love you all!
Comments
18 responses to “Jones, Gurnal A. III”
Rest in peace Gurnal. Give Neil a hug from me and tell him
I love and miss him. You both fought so hard.
Our heartfelt hugs and thoughts as you reflect on the happy times from the life that was! Long time family friend Gurnsey you were special to many GB !!
Dear Julie, Aiden, Alexis and entire Jones’ family,
Mike and I extend our deepest sympathies to all of you. We are deeply saddened by Gurnal’s passing. He was an all around wonderful person, fun to be around, kind, caring and courageous. Every time I saw him he always had a smile on his face. A class act and someone we will never forget and are honored to call him our friend.
Gurnal, may you rest in peace.
All our love and deepest condolences.
Mike & Cindy Callarama
So sad…in the short time that we knew both Gurnal and Julie, they became very special to us…under the worst situation, he and Julie were rays of sunshine, and, when they were in New York, and we al had dinner together, it was a wonderful evening. He will be sorely missed by everyone that he touched. Our prayers go out to Julie and the entire Jones family. He was a fighter…a wonderful father, and he truly loved and adored Julie. Two people that came into our lives, and left a very positive mark.
All our love to all of you,
Marilyn and Jack
Gurnal Jones was captain of MCC’s basketball team the first year I became president there. I enjoyed watching his skillful play under our great coach Murph Shapiro, but more importantly I observed Gurnal’s obvious leadership ability and popularity with his teammates. My condolences to his family. RIP.
Peter A. Spina
President Emeritus, Monroe Community College
I’m really gonna miss you, My Friend. Thank you for 45 years of unwavering friendship.
It was a wonderful ride
B-ster
With deepest sympathy. The fight you all endoured was of strength, compassion, determination, and admiration. May you all find the peace that you dear Gurnal is finally feeling.
The loss of such a great man will never be forgotten , but his Love for you and the kids will be forever lasting….. I’m so very sorry for your loss and know you helped him more than anyone could have to have these last few years …God Bless , You are in my thoughts.. Tina
Leaving behind so many people , family, friends, and some just in passing, to have left behind such an astonishing impression is truly what life is about. A legacy of complete greatness! Thank you to the Jones-Gurnal family for sharing so much with all of us ! May all the memories guide you to peace , knowing Gurnal was such a hero to many of us! With love and respect . God Bless You
I heard of Gurnal’s passing today on the ECD chat. I am so sorry to read about this. I was finally dx with ECD 18 months ago. I see Dr. Diamond at Sloan Kettering now. Again, so sorry to read of his death.
I had the honor and privilege of caring for Gurnal as he fought every day to be the best man that he was. While the care I provided was largely supportive–helping Gurnal to be as comfortable as possible–I also witnessed a generous and graceful spirit emanating from Gurnal. He asked on two occasions, “What can I do to help? Do you need anything?” As I reassured him that I was “good”, I marveled at Gurnal’s sensitivity and selflessness in a desperate situation. In the same way, I was deeply moved by Julie’s devoted, loving courage in the face of what was to come. Julie, you inspire me, and Gurnal will forever be in my heart and mind.
My deepest condolences to Gurnal’s family. RIP.
Dear Jones family,
I was friends with Gurnal at SJFC. Although out of touch, when I did see Gurnal it was always a warm meeting remembering old times and hearing of new ones. He was always a warm, sincere and genuine man that was present in the moment. A trait not easy to find these days. I’m so very sorry for your loss and pray for your strength to remain storng. Gurnal will be missed but his strong spirit will I’m sure remain with you all.
May Gurnal be welcome to God’s loving arms.
All my warmest thoughts and prayers to your family.
My Best,
Larry
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