Obituary: Christopher Jones, 55, of Arlington

The following is from Boston Cremation.

Christopher Arnold Jones, 55, of Arlington, passed away on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 after a long illness.

Chris was born in Greencastle, Indiana, on Nov. 29, 1958. He was the beloved son of Mary and Arnold Jones and brother to Matthew Jones. Loving husband of Alisa Conner and devoted father of Alana Conner, age 6.

Chris grew up in Pauling and Stone Ridge, New York, and graduated from Rondout Valley Regional High School. He earned bachelor’s degrees in music and anthropology from SUNY Potsdam and came to Boston to study classical guitar.  Unable to continue playing guitar due to his muscular dystrophy, Chris worked for many years in higher education and earned a master’s in arts administration from Boston University’s Metropolitan College in 2005.

Music continued to be an enduring passion, and he was a dedicated member of the choir at First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Arlington, in which he was very active. He spent time as a volunteer at various early music organizations and at English-At-Large. Chris loved model trains, travel, studying German and spending time with his family.

Chris taught his friends and family that it is possible to live life fully and deeply, even with a disability; indeed, we learn from Chris that all of us experience different limitations and have different gifts to offer. He lived his life with a fierce integrity, an enormous love and a ceaseless striving to learn and grow as a husband, father and human being.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 12, at 2 p.m. at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, 630 Mass. Ave., Arlington, MA 02476.  For guestbook, please visit www.bostoncremation.org.