Jon Howard Jolly

Jon H. Jolly may have been a man of few words, but when he spoke, you knew it would be funny. If he had written his own obituary, it would have read “Jon died...End of Story.” However, his family chose to elaborate with a few more details after his unexpected passing on January 7, 2020 in Dallas, Texas.

Jon was born July 2, 1938 as the 8th of 9 children to Finnis and Minnie Jolly in Champaign, Illinois. He worked odd jobs as a boy at his family’s restaurant, The Pines, but knew he was destined for success when he got his first real great job as a caddy…at a miniature golf course. Jon overcame the fact that he was denied acceptance to kindergarten, but finally did attend public schools in Champaign (class of 1956), followed by his service in the Army from 1957-1960, the University of Illinois (now UIUC) and Northwestern School of Business (now Kellogg). While he went on to achieve even greater things as an accountant (like the day his debits actually equaled his credits), he liked to claim that when he left Illinois for Texas in 1966, he raised the IQ of both states.

People that knew Jon have lasting memories of his humor. Whenever he’d see his friends, he’d greet them with, “You again?” and, “Let’s have a drink.” When they came to visit, he’d ask them to walk in backwards so he would think they were leaving.

As a father, he was a great motivator. He would tell his children that success is the result of hard work and perseverance, and they too could become successful; he reminded them regularly that he never made a “B” in his life – it wasn’t till years later that his children learned that he never made an “A” either.

Jon was very proud of his greatest accomplishment that occurred on June 8, 1963 when he married his wife Arlene. As he tells the story, “I gave her the ring and she gave me the finger!” Jon liked to remind everyone that by Arlene’s count, they were happily married for 49 years, and that 49 out of 56 was pretty darn good!

He will be sorely missed by his wife, Arlene Goetz Jolly, his children, JW Jolly (Shelley) and Kendall Rowe, his granddaughters, Lauren Jolly Sterry (Brock) and Nicole Jolly, his sisters, Marilyn Eaton and Carol Keller (Chuck), dozens of nieces and nephews…and maybe a friend or two ;)

While Jon was quick to deflect attention away from himself, for this fun reminder of his life, he could truly say “It’s all about me.” Jon used to claim that his final resting place would be quickly followed by a sign saying “there goes the neighborhood;” however, after making sure his family knew that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior, we all know that his new place of residence is in Heaven, and for that we are all grateful. As a final salute, to echo what his granddaughters would yell at the top of their lungs every time they would say goodbye, “WE LOVE YOU POPS!” And the rest of us do, too!

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in memory of Jon be made to T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center Endowment in Dallas at www.faithpreshospice.org/donate or call Chris Patton at 214-413-1552.