Norma Jones, surrounded by more than a dozen alpacas on her hill-perched acreage property five kilometres north of Cochrane, contemplated what her next winter would look like. “I might need to find something to do, but there isn’t a lot to do around here,” Jones said, wearing cargo pants, running shoes and holding a sure stance. She mused about a trip to Europe and a river cruise in Germany. For not the first or second time in her life, Jones, in her mid-seventies, celebrated yet another retirement, this time from Rocky View Handi-bus. Her last day driving the bus was July 31, and at that point she had driven 219,812 kilometres since starting in 2012 and had picked up and dropped off exactly 7,624 passengers, according to the company’s log. “She’d go above and beyond to help people,” said Ginger Moulaison, Rocky View Buses’ operation supervisor. “With our passengers, we have to sometimes set boundaries ... because then they start expecting everything. She (Jones) would try to squeeze extra things in for them, you know, help them out.” This was one of Jones’ shortest-lived careers. For 25 years, she worked for Calgary Police Service as a beat cop to a Crime Scenes Unit officer, all at a time when women were more of an oddity in the field. On the day of her graduation from the Calgary Police Academy – where she was the only woman in her class – she received 21 long stemmed roses from each of her male classmates. After Jones retired from the police service, she moved between jobs including driving a school bus for a year and working at Cochrane Coffee Traders for five years. Then in 2003, she opened Norma’s Place, a restaurant off of Railway Street, which operated for seven years. “She had a regular following and made friends,” said Jones’ friend, Holly Strand. “She was known for helping and feeding people without payment or judgment. Her kindness was well known and she was generous.” Jones, who was raised on a Alberta/Saskatchewan border farm, is currently a volunteer with Strand at Spirit Winds Ranch Foundation, which provides Equine Assisted Learning primarily for children with special needs but for all the general public. “Norma is an animal lover,” Strand said, adding that Jones owns two standard poodles. “She has a small greenhouse and green thumb; growing beautiful tomatoes and potatoes which she shares with friends. She has a lovely disposition, is a great listener, and a positive attitude about life in general.” Standing in the enclosure, Jones cooed to a brown alpaca, who boldly approached her while the others stayed a few feet back. “This is miss friendly,” she said fondly. “She’s always been the type of alpaca that’s right up in your face since the day she was born.” For the next chapter in her life, Jones said she and her husband, Derek, might move on from their alpaca operation, which they started back in 1994. “We’re going to do some more traveling. We’re downsizing the herd, and eventually, we won’t have any at all. That’s the plan right now,” she said, adding that they still love the area. “I don’t think we’ll ever leave. I know a lot of people and have made great friendships,” she said. “Who knows what I’ll come up with next.” [email protected]
