Jared Haynes Jones was born Sept. 29, 1963 in DeRidder, and he died at home on Nov. 22, 2023, at the age of 60.

Jared was preceded in death by: his parents, Elizabeth Anne (Haynes) Jones and Richard Wayne Jones Sr. of DeRidder; his maternal grandparents, Herbert and Wanna (Adams) Haynes of DeRidder; his paternal grandparents Charles and Eleanor (Finley) Jones of DeRidder; and his mother-in-law, Susan (Brennecke) Landon of Brusly, La.

Jared is survived by his wife, Kimberly Sue (Landon) Jones and their daughter, Lilith Aurelia; his father-in-law, Keith Landon; along with Jared’s two brothers and their families, Richard Jones Jr. and Carolyn of College Station, Texas and their three children, Wayne, Eleanor, and Emily; Finley Jones and Becky of Moss Bluff, La. and their two children, Lee and his wife Caroline, and Erin and her husband Aaron. Lee and Caroline have one child, Annie. Erin and Aaron Marcental have three children, Lydia, Shane, and Colt. Other surviving family include Jared’s aunt JoAnna (Haynes) Tanner; Jo’s daughter, Amy Sullins and her husband Kenny, and their two children Abbigail and Cole. Jared’s cousins are Charles A. “Sam” Jones and Claudia Stafford; Sam and his wife Kelly have two children, Kelsey and Claire. Kelsey and McDaniel Wyatt share two children, Helen and Charles.

Close friends of Jared include Jason and Sheena Maxwell of Lawrenceville, Ga.; Les Leavoy and Martha O’Neal of DeRidder; Jose and Reina Aldana of DeRidder; Joe Owens of Neb.; Evan Taylor of Dallas, Texas; and Sam Morehead of Cedar Park, Texas.

Jared graduated from DeRidder High School in 1981. He graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in 1987, and this formative experience led him to live a secular life. Jared graduated in 1992 from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches with a BA in Archaeology and an emphasis in fine arts, and he worked at NSU during and after his studies at the NSU Scholars’ College until 1993 in various roles. Jared was the laboratory manager of the archaeological installation at the Los Adaes State Historic Site in Robeline, La. from 1994-1995, where he cataloged over 70,000 artifacts. Jared graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the LSU Paul M. Herbert Law School in 1999. He spent the next 20+ years living and working in DeRidder, first as an attorney with Kerry and Erica Anderson, then as a schoolteacher, and subsequently as a writer for WestLaw. He spent the majority of his final years restoring old houses and raising his daughter Lilith; she was the light of his life.

He spent the happiest times of his childhood at either Mom and Pop’s house at Jones Farm on Ike’s Road, or at the family camp at Old River. He would happily recall how Mom would give him a knife and a box of matches to entertain himself in the woods, and how she would bury jars of coins just for him to dig up. He loved swimming in the creek and getting lost in the woods. His summers were spent at Old River, as his parents were both teachers, and were filled with hunting squirrels, fishing, going out in the boat, and not being cornered by one of Justice Neely’s angry mama hogs! Jared’s favorite pet was a standard dachshund, Nubba, and every pet he had thereafter was compared to him; many came close, but none ever exceeded Nubba. Jared’s thirst for life was evident in his varied interests: box turtles, parrots – specifically his macaw Marley, military history, cooking, Louisiana history, antiques and ephemera, writing, board games, local archaeology, literature – especially science fiction and fantasy, camellias, art and ceramics, and the power of language; he especially loved anything forgotten or lost and then rediscovered.

Jared identified with the following sentiments of philosopher and author Christopher Hitchens’ “Take the risk of thinking for yourself-much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way” and “My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time…”

A private memorial service for family and close friends will be held at a date to be determined. Jared will be cremated so his ashes can be scattered in Ireland; he vacationed there once and hoped to move there, so he could knit sweaters and admire soft, grey days. In lieu of flowers, a gift can be given to the American Cancer Society.