North Texas Firefighter Diana Jones To 'Lie In Repose' Until Public Memorial Service
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - North Texas firefighter Diana Jones, who died while helping battle one of the wildfires raging in California, is making her final journey home.
The casket containing her remains will arrive at the Cresson Airport, 25 miles southwest of Fort Worth on Wednesday. It will then be taken to the training facility where Jones will "lie in repose"until her public memorial service in Granbury on Saturday.
Jones was as an EMT and volunteer firefighter. She worked with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department for more than five years. Jones and her son, Cresson VFD Capt. Ian Shelly, travel west and work for private contractors fighting fires during the fire season.
They were working together on a fire northwest of Sacramento, California when she died in an accident while repositioning her truck during a firefight.
The August Complex Fire -- in Mendocino County -- started as 37 separate lightning caused fires and has now burned close to 250,000 acres.
Cresson is not the only local department with firefighters helping to battle the California fires. Parker County Emergency Services, Division 1 says firefighters from both their department and the Weatherford Fire Department are currently helping to fight fires out west.
The Cresson VFD posted about their colleague returning home on their Facebook page saying:
Our fallen Firefighter / EMT Diana Jones will return to us from California late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 9. She will be flown to our Cresson airport where she will be met by her family and Cresson Volunteer Fire Department family. Since our space is limited at our airport, we won't be able to open her arrival to others than these two families and any media that should wish to cover her arrival. Should you wish to follow her return home on the various flight following apps, the aircraft's number is N4372L. After her arrival, our Fire Department will carry Diana to our training facility at 9401 E. US 377 in Cresson. There she will lie in state around the clock until her memorial service. We invite all to stop by and pay their respects at this location. Diana spent countless hours painting and cleaning this facility. Our department voted Thursday evening to name this facility in her honor. Her public memorial service will be held at 10 AM, Saturday, September 19, at her church, the Granbury Church of Christ. Our Chaplin and the Preaching Minister of that church, Dr. Joh Knox, will officiate. Diana will be laid to rest next to her late husband in Marble Falls, Texas.
Both of Diana's families, her family and the Cresson Fire Department family, are so touched and honored by the overwhelming outpouring of support from everyone. While she deserved such recognition, we're not sure we do. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We so hope you'll be able to stop by "her" training facility after she arrives back to us and let us thank you personally. You are the greatest supporters any volunteer fire department could ever enjoy.
Since hearing the tragic news, tributes from local departments in the area including Hood County, Everman, Goldly and Millsap have been posted on social media. All sharing their condolences with the Cresson Volunteer Fire Department and remembering Jones -- a firefighter who died doing what she was passionate about.
Last week the department voted to name the training facility in her honor.
Cresson is about 25 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
