BOULDER, Colo. — Emily Jones sat there with a smile on her face as she thought about the messages she had received over the last few days.
She knew her father Jeff Jones was a popular man, but she did not realize just how loved he was.
"It’s just been crazy hearing how many people actually know him," she said. "How much of an influence he made in people’s lives."
Jeff Jones was a security guard for Boulder Valley School District for the last 30 years. He spent a good portion of that time at Fairview High School.
"He was a bit of a teenager whisperer," his former co-worker Dot Kellner said. "He just had this really amazing way with the students."
Jones was known for connecting with kids in ways no one could. His former colleagues all agreed he had a big heart. But it was his heart that eventually failed him.
"It was around Christmas time last year he started going to the hospital more frequently because his body started filling up with fluid," Emily Jones explained. "And he was diagnosed with congenital heart failure."
Jones died on Easter Sunday. He left behind three daughters, grandchildren and a lot of medical bills that the community is trying to help the family pay in honor of a man who taught students lessons no textbook ever could.
"I think a lot of people, they kind of go through their life wondering if they made a difference in the world," Ross Sutter his former co-worker said. "I don't think Jeff ever had that feeling, because he knows that he did."
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