Jill Jones earned praise for easy, open way as head of Goodwill

It was a typical Jill Jones smile: It started with her mouth, but if you looked real close, you could see it in her eyes. She showed it to Marvin Brown for the last time Saturday, more than a decade after their friendship began.

He had just given her a progress report on the production department at Seattle Goodwill. She had just finished a speech as president of the organization, which was celebrating its 80th anniversary.

"One of a kind," said Brown, who began in Goodwill's training program and now is a supervisor in the production department. "She could talk to anybody and have them feel welcome."

Ms. Jones, 46, died Monday (April 14) after a long illness. She had worked for Seattle Goodwill for 24 years, becoming president of the organization in 1991.

Ms. Jones, who lived in Kirkland, had one daughter and was a church volunteer.

Under Ms. Jones' leadership, Seattle Goodwill saw an expansion of programs that led to a 400 percent increase in the number of individuals served, the organization said. The nonprofit group added seven retail stores. Revenues from those stores have nearly quadrupled.

But beyond those achievements, colleagues praised Ms. Jones for the easy, open way she had with people. She kept an open-door policy from the start, and she backed it up with smiles and words of comfort and advice.

"You would walk through our production area and people would light up when they saw her," said Alice Braverman, a spokeswoman for Goodwill. "They would walk up to her and give a hug or take her hand."

The Utah native made friends easily, then held on to them for years. Frank Boyle met her two decades ago during a volleyball game outside their apartment building.

His first words to Ms. Jones were an apology for hitting her in the face with the ball.

Twenty years later, Boyle remembers her as his most sincere, reliable and loyal friend. Even after he moved 3,000 miles away, Ms. Jones never forgot a birthday.

Even with so many things to do at work, she always checked in. Through all those tough transitions, Ms. Jones was always there.

"She was about the best thing you could ever hope for," Boyle said.

Joan Easton of Kirkland said her daughter had a good, kind way about her from the start. She was quiet back then, but her devotion to family came through. She was always ready with praise and support for her siblings. Years later, she gave the same things to her daughter.

As a child, Ms. Jones was a classic overachiever — the girl who read the most books in class, the one who won all the spelling bees. She set the highest standards for herself, then quietly went about meeting them.

It was a work ethic she carried into adulthood. She came to Seattle Goodwill in 1979 as a public-relations specialist, then moved on to become director of the department a few years later.

The job allowed her to travel across the world, from Scotland to Switzerland. Her mother often traveled with her on the trips.

"They were wonderful times," she said. "I was so fortunate."

In addition to her mother, Ms. Jones is survived by her father, Martin, of Camano Island; her daughter, Kimberly, of Kirkland; her brothers, David, of Everett, and Michael, of Phoenix; and her sister, Vicki Tucker, of Redmond.

Memorial services will be today at 11 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7720 126th Ave. N.E., Kirkland.

Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com