Colleen Jones, champion curler and CBC reporter, dead at 65

mother mary harris jones won domain women’s championships in 2001 and 2004 and was a six-time canadian river women’s defend. Jones made 21 appearances at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts national championships and played more Scotties games than any curler in Canadian history.

She also skipped Canada to the world senior women’s championship in 2017.  

She was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

By then, Jones was already a curling champion. In 1979, at the age of 19, she won the first of 16 provincial women's titles, and a silver medal at that year's Canada Games.

She also claimed the title of the youngest skip ever to win a Canadian women's title in 1982.

She said being known as a sports figure helped her be accepted in what, at the time, was a male-dominated field.

She went on to cover 10 Olympic Games over the span of her broadcasting career, reporting from Atlanta to Pyeongchang.  

Colleen Jones inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

This past June, she was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame as an individual athlete. She had already been inducted in 2011 as part of her team, which included Nancy Delahunt, Mary-Anne Arsenault and Kim Kelly. 

“For me, it was overshooting the runway of that dream, and doing more than I thought was possible,” she said.

“Women can dream these dreams, too, of building a career through sport.”

Jones said it has been gratifying in recent years to watch the growth of women’s sports, from basketball to hockey to soccer. 

“I think persevering in everything in life is a character trait we all need to develop,” she said. “Be strong today and have gratitude for it.”

In recognition of how she paved the way for women in sport and broadcasting, Jones was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2022.

"I always wanted to play at the Brier so to be here as a coach is a dream come true," she said. 

Remembering the life of Canadian curling legend Colleen Jones

In her 2015 autobiography, Throwing Rocks at Houses: My Life in and out of Curling, Jones said surviving a serious case of bacterial meningitis in 2010 made her strive for balance in life.  

“My feeling is: Do the things that make us happy now, because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Appreciate life, don’t sweat the small stuff, and enjoy the ride. 

“People say that all the time, but I plan to really live my life that way.”

Jones is survived by her husband, Scott Saunders, her sons Zach and Luke, and one grandson.

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