Police officer's wife dies

If there's anything Rhonda Jones will be remembered for, it'll be for the love she shared with her husband.

"She loved my stepdad, Arlie Jones, very much," Shonda Boren, Rhonda Jones' daughter, said.

Just six months after losing their dad, Shonda Boren, Shanna Foppiano, Mandy Boren, Kathleen Jones and Chelsea Jones are trying to cope with the loss of their mother as well.

Rhonda Jones, whose husband, police Cpl. Arlie Jones, was shot to death in September in western Odessa, died Wednesday. She was 53.

It was well known throughout the police department and the community that Arlie and Rhonda Jones were deeply in love.

"Rhonda really loved Arlie," Odessa police Capt. Chuck Moad said. "We would take some comfort in the fact the two of them are together now."

Odessa police Cpl. Sherrie Carruth said Arlie Jones had a visible love of his wife, Rhonda, and "she loved her Arlie, too."

And the Rev. Jimmy Braswell, who was leading a grief counseling class that Rhonda Jones had been attending for about 11 weeks, echoed that observation.

"She and her husband were very connected - they were soul mates," he said.

Which makes the 53-year-old mother's death particularly difficult on her children and grandchildren, who lost Arlie "Lee" Jones on Sept. 8.

"We're still in shock," Shonda Boren said. "We don't know what to do or what to say."

Shonda Boren said her mother went into Odessa Regional Medical Center on Sunday because her oxygen was low - she was admitted as an inpatient.

"They went in and gave her a breathing treatment at 3 (Wednesday), and they went in 30 minutes later, and she was dead," Shonda Boren said. "We don't know why."

Shonda Boren said the family has requested an autopsy, "so we can find out exactly what happened to her."

Meanwhile, Moad said officers at the PD are greatly saddened by the news of Rhonda Jones' death.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, who must be really struggling with this," Moad said.

"It's a big loss to us still," he said. "She was a part of the police department family here, and we really tried to be by her side through all this. We're going to miss her."

Ronda Jones' husband, Arlie, was one of three Odessa police officers shot and killed in the line of duty on Sept. 8. A domestic dispute call that day in western Odessa ended with Arlie Jones and Scott Gardner being shot to death. Cpl. Abel Marquez died four days later of injuries sustained in the shooting.

In January, at a private ceremony honoring Arlie Jones, Gardner and Marquez, Rhonda Jones said her husband died being watched over by God.

"I know that the pain is real deep in here," Rhonda Jones said at the time. "He died the way he wanted to die - protecting."

Braswell said Wednesday that Rhonda Jones was having difficulty recovering from her loss, but "she really was making good progress."

"She was sad, but at times she even laughed, he said.

In fact, Braswell said Rhonda Jones planned to continue attending the class, and he was surprised to hear of her death.

"She was planning toward the future," he said.

Braswell speculated that extreme grief, combined with some other health problems Rhonda Jones was experiencing could have contributed to her death.

The news of Rhonda Jones' death surprised many at the police department, Carruth said.

"Everyone who I've talked to is just like I am: they're surprised and they're shocked."

Many in the police department have kept up with Rhonda Jones the last six months, and particularly recently as she was preparing to attend the National Police Memorial from May 13 to 16 in Washington, D.C.

"We've visited and kept in contact with her on a constant basis, " Carruth said. "When we heard the news this morning, it came as a shock to us, as it did to the family."

Carruth said Rhonda Jones was well-liked and would be missed.

"Rhonda was so open," Carruth said. "She was a personable person. You could talk to Rhonda and she loved to talk to you."

Shonda Boren said Rhonda Jones was more than just well liked, she also liked people, too.

"She was a Christian," Shonda Boren said. "She loved her grandkids and her daughters. She loved shopping. ... She'd do anything for anybody if she could."

OA staff writer Daniel Skolfield contributed to this report. 

SERVICE INFORMATION

>> Rhonda Jones, 53, of Odessa, died Wednesday, March 19, 2008, at Odessa Regional Medical Center.

>> Services are pending with Sunset Memorial Funeral Home. Family members said the funeral is expected to be early next week, after Easter.

>> Jones is survived by daughters, Shanna Foppiano and husband Nick, Mandy Boren and husband Shane, and Shonda Boren and husband Ronnie, Kathleen Jones and Chelsea Jones; brother, Mike Miller of Midland; and grandchildren, Kayla Miller, Rebekkah Miller, Jaden Boren, Tyler Boren and Kaitlin Foppiano.