Geneva Jones is the epitome of what a nurse should be — competent, concerned and caring — all tempered with a good sense of humor.

In June of this year, Jones retired from the Good Samaritan Nursing Home with 21 1/2 years of service. She was
honored at a luncheon and was given an engraved gold clock in recognition of her value to the facility.

After a trip to Arkansas visiting family and doing some fishing, Jones returned to pick up her final pay check at Good Sam. Brenda Skidmore, director of nursing, joked with her, "Geneva, what days can you pick up?"

"I told her I couldn’t in July, but I picked out some days in August," Jones recalls.

So, two months later,
Geneva Jones is no longer a nurse in retirement, she is again a treasured employee of Good Samaritan, if only on a limited basis.

Jones says, "I just missed the people at Good Sam so much. I have so many beautiful friends, the staff and residents are my second family."

Brenda Skidmore appreciates Jones’ worth, "I have worked with Geneva since I started in 1994. We are very fortunate she said she would come back and help us out at least five times a month. It’s a blessing…"

Rascal and Foxy, canine residents at Good Samaritan, are also delighted Jones has returned, as Skidmore explains, "Those dogs follow her wherever she goes… she is as caring for the animals as she is with the residents.

"She’s a very cheerful lady and was very missed."

Geneva Jones found her adopted home of Artesia and her place at Good Samaritan in 1979 when she came here to visit her expecting daughter and son-in-law. She fell in love with the town and, in February of 1980, came back to live and work.

Jones had attended nursing school in Russellville, Ark., where she was reared. Today, her nursing career spans more than 24 years.

"When I look back, as an 8- year-old I said, ‘I want to be a nurse’ and didn’t think about what being a nurse entailed — I was too busy playing and having fun," Jones relates. "I had never been inside a nursing home until I went to nursing school. It is hard work, but rewarding."

During her tenure at Good Samaritan, Jones has encountered six administrators, beginning with Ken Keller when she first arrived. After Keller left, Dennis Beeman took over.

"We have so many changes because of Mr. Beeman’s rearranging," says Jones. "We got the apartments out back. He was a builder, and changed many things. Each one (administrator) has brought something different."

Steve Franklin, Good Samaritan’s present administrator commends Jones’ nursing style, "She is an excellent nurse. The biggest impression she made on me is that she didn’t come in and always talk about their medical needs. She would talk about their spiritual and emotional needs.

"When she was deciding whether or not to retire, we had quite a few conversations having to do with the calling — what we both felt the Lord was calling us to do in our lives. I definitely feel that she was called into the field she is in. She is very good."

Residents of Good Sam feel strongly about Jones, also. Fran Baer wrote a letter to the editor of the Daily Press lauding Jones "...She has given loving care to the residents here for 20 years. Everyone has been a recipient of her special devotion and love."

Apart from being an excellent nurse, Geneva Jones is a phenomenal baker of goodies, an avid fisherman and a prize-winning gardener! She has grown gigantic 20-pound squash, huge cabbages and has taken several blue ribbons at the Eddy County Fair. Her gardening philosophy, "Throw out the seeds and let the Lord take over."

Her love of fishing grew from living in Missouri as a very young child and her first fishing experience. "Everyone had a pole but me," she recalls, "I had a stick, string and a safety pin and was the only one to catch a fish — it was only a small perch."

Her baking skills are celebrated by all who know her and especially the staff at Good Samaritan. Jones says she doesn’t know if she has more cookbooks or crochet books.

Her deep, abiding faith in God is apparent when she speaks about the important things in her life and she belongs to the Church of God.

Jones has, "six beautiful daughters, 17 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren."

She laughs at Steve Franklin’s reaction upon her return to Good Samaritan, "He said, ‘If I had known you were coming back this soon, I wouldn’t have given you the clock.’"