A key member of the Aldergrove United Soccer Club community will be memorialized with his name on a sports park he helped build.
On Friday, Sept. 28 the east soccer field at the Aldergrove Athletic Park will be renamed John Jones Field.
John Jones, 71, a long-serving Aldergrove community member, passed away suddenly from a brain hemorrhage at his home Friday evening, March 23, 2018. He left behind his devoted wife Wanda and their sons Ryan and Kyle.
He is also missed by many friends in the Aldergrove community, as Jones had been a key player and supporter of the Aldergrove United Soccer Club and Aldergrove Athetic Park over the years.
Jones had raised his family in Aldergrove as well as co-founded Gemco Construction here.
As a major contractor Gemco has installed infrastructure for large projects all over the province, and thanks to Jones, Gemco installed major services at Aldergrove Athletic Park at cost to help make the community project affordable for the Township of Langley and all the donors.
The park is today the envy of surrounding communities, and provides excellent facilities for amateur soccer, baseball and other sports.
Aldergrove United Soccer Club also hosted a friendly “kick around” in Jones’s memory at the park over the past weekend.
As Janis Dawn Swaine posted on the Aldergrove United Soccer Club page: “A good time was had by all today in memory of a great man. I know he would have loved how the friendly game of soccer was played today and genuine camaraderie was enjoyed. John was an immense influence on the creation and development of the Aldergrove Club and the Aldergrove Athletic Park fields that we play on today. He was always positive, willing and available to help out for many years in any way that he could to promote the improvement and enjoyment of soccer for our community. He was just one of those really, really good guys.”
Aldergrove United Soccer Club invites all friends and family to attend the Sept. 28 ceremony and share in the honour and the legacy that his passion for this site left on the community.
The John Jones sports field naming ceremony will commence at 1:30 p.m. at the east field and there will be a catered reception after at the field house onsite at the park. Everybody is welcome, and a cash bar will be provided.
The address for the park is 26845 27th Ave., Aldergrove.
