Gloria was born in Seattle on Sept. 8, 1925. She passed away on December 9, 1925. Her father, Homer Tiefel, was a payroll clerk for a steamship company; her mother, Jewel Tiefel (nee Bilyeu), was a homemaker.

When Gloria was eight years old, she moved with her parents and her sister Maxine to a wheat ranch in the southeast corner of Washington State.

Gloria sometimes said that her childhood was the best part of her life. She chose to follow her father around the ranch rather than spend time in the house with her mother. Her cousin Bob visited every summer. Sometimes, shirtless with bandanas tied around their heads, Gloria and Bob buried treasure. They collected inner tubes, planning to fill them with helium and float through the air. Gloria decided that boys had more fun than girls. She asked the harvest crew to call her “Bill.”

Grade school could be tedious. Why do ten long division problems if you got the first two right? Gloria chose to look out the window and draw. Or think about big questions. Where had she come from? Where did the universe come from? Nothing could go on forever, but if the universe ended, what would be past the ending?

Gloria attended Washington State College (later University). She recalled making anatomical drawings for one of her professors and going out after curfew for ice cream. At the end of World War II, she married Walter Jones. When she talked about her marriage, she liked to say, “That was what you did at the end of the war, and Walt was big and handsome.”

Walt’s career included being maintenance director at Camp Orkila on Orcas Island, a Girl Scout property manager and a state park ranger at no fewer than seven state parks. Gloria was obliged to move frequently. When she went to a new place, she would go to the library, shop at thrift stores, plant a garden, paint and make friends.

Between 1947 and 1955, Walt and Gloria had four children. Gloria gave them the opportunity to explore Camp Orkila on their own. They played in stands of Douglas fir, among virgin cedar trees and in an old apple orchard. They explored the beach, dug clams, and gathered oysters. Gloria read to them before bed. Her sense of humor was instructive and gentle. One morning she served banana splits for breakfast.

In 1972, Walt and Gloria, with help from their children, bought 380 acres west of the Okanogan River near Tonasket.

Their children, Laura Jones-Edwards (Ron), Jerry Jones (Victoria), Marilyn St. James (George) and Bruce Jones, as well as granddaughter Aurora Dwyer (Todd) and great granddaughter Isadora live at the farm. Granddaughter Matia Jones lives in Hawaii. On the coast are grandsons Alex Black (Susan), Jacob Black (Emily), and great-grandchildren Jocelyn Black-Kinkead (Liam), Ziggy O’Neill, Miles Black, and Lydia Black. Jocelyn and Liam’s daughters, Maeve and Freya, arrived in time for Gloria to know that she had two great-great-granddaughters.

Several years ago, Gloria said that the things that mattered most to her were her family and the natural world. A good day included enjoying nature and her family, reading, drinking coffee, being free from pain and resting.