Jones family turns heartache into annual benefit for cancer research

Family members stand at the 2023 H.O.P.E. Campaign annual event. Pictured from left are: Joe Galati, Sam Galati, Lora Galati, Vita Claire Galati, Anna Kate Galati, Keaton Leija, Rachel Jones, Mason Jones, Kyle Jones and Hudson Jones.

Photos provided

Sadly, most of us know someone who has battled cancer.

This disease continues its assault on humanity, but the advancement of technology and pharmaceuticals are bringing its own fight of cautious optimism to the medical battlefield.

No one knows this better than the Jones family, whose loss of parents Larry and Kathy united the family all the way back in the late ‘90s.

Kathy and Larry Jones were married in 1972 and had three children: Lora, Kyle and Sara. Kathy and Larry are the inspiration behind the H.O.P.E. Campaign. The annual event raises money for cancer patients.

The Bloomfield-Aquilla community also does its part to keep Larry and Kathy’s legacies alive with an annual fundraising event and, most notably, the semi-annual fish fry. This year, the fish-fry returns April 26.

Larry had a reputation for always helping others, and his family wanted this legacy to live on. In 2011, upon his passing, the family established the Larry B. Jones H.O.P.E. Campaign — Celebrating Healing, Optimism, Prayer & Example.

“We had our first fish fry in 2012,” said daughter Lora Jones Galati.

Sara Jones passed in 2012. Her zest for life continues through her family.

The annual event raises nearly $13,000.

Larry made a life from farming while Kathy spent her days helping to raise three kids while working in education.

“In 1998, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. And then everything was fine, she made it through, and she went back to work and continued life after that,” Jones Galati said. “Then, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in the fall of 2010. We were devastated.”

Unfortunately, Larry’s battle was “very short,” and he only lived another four and a half months.

“It was an emotional and trying time,” Jones Galati said.

“In the spring of 2012, one year after losing dad, we held a community fish fry in Bloomfield, raising nearly $8,000 to help others battling cancer. This became the first annual H.O.P.E. Campaign fundraiser,” Jones Galati said.

The inspiration for the annual fundraising event hit Jones Galati and her siblings at the hospital.

She said: “I remember sitting at my dad’s hospital bedside with my mom, sister (Sara) and brother (Kyle) just talking about how my dad always was helping people. And how we wanted that to continue in small ways … giving back to the community.”

The family, after brainstorming on what would later become the H.O.P.E. campaign, knew they wanted to carry on the family legacy for those in need. After all, no one could relate like the Joneses could.

“We want to be that support for other people. We have been there, and it is hard, so we started the H.O.P.E Campaign,” said Jones Galati. “Faith is a big part of our lives, and we could see that God was involved and led us to doing this.”

Two weeks after laying the Jones patriarch to rest, Kathy’s cancer returned. The family was beyond shocked.

“Two weeks after burying my dad and we are dealing with metastatic breast cancer,” Jones Galati said of her mother’s battle. “For the family, it was another blow, another devastation.”

In October 2011, they and their community pulled together for a “Kickin’ Cancer with Kathy” event. Kathy decided all proceeds from the T-shirt sales would go to the H.O.P.E. Campaign. In its first year, the charity raised more than $9,000.

Another blow came in 2012, when Jones Galati’s sister, Sara, unexpectedly passed away in her sleep. Once again, the family banded together in pure Jones fashion.

“This (the H.O.P.E. Campaign) was our small way of giving back,” Jones Galati said. “Her love and laughter live on through all of us.”

The next year they teamed up with 18 FORE Life, a 501(c)(3) charity, she added. “This same year, they celebrated their 1 millionth love-offering dollar given to benefit area cancer warriors.”

After a valiant 18-year battle with cancer, Kathy passed away Aug. 28, 2016. 

The charity was renamed The Larry & Kathy Jones Family H.O.P.E. Campaign. In 2017, its T-shirt sales, along with memorial donations and other contributions, allowed the family to raise more than $17,000 for the H.O.P.E. Campaign and 18 FORE Life.  

To learn more or to make a donation, please visit: https://larrybjoneshopecampaign.square.site

This year’s H.O.P.E. Campaign fish fry will be held from 4:30-7:30 p.m. April 26 at Trinity Methodist Church in Bloomfield, located at 704 W. Missouri St.