PORTAGE – Stacey Jones began her conversion to Catholicism by walking into Nativity of Our Savior church with a friend, but when she walks down the aisle on June 24, she will be a bride.
In between, she will receive the sacraments of Holy Communion and confirmation at the Easter Vigil service on April 8, completing the spiritual journey that began last fall.
“Everything has gone by so fast,” said Jones of the steps she has taken with her fiancé, Gary Graves, toward sharing their faith and their lives.
Baptized a Methodist as a child, Jones said she always had God in her life, but not necessarily as a churchgoer. “I had always prayed; my grandmother, Mona Fae, taught me that God is always there, and I believe that.”
Jones said her faith was truly tested during her first marriage to Jeffrey Jones, whom she met after the death of his first wife and a young daughter. “I met him at a low point in my life in 1991, and we were together for 30 years,” she noted. “He had a son, and then we had a daughter, Jessie, together in 1994.”
Her husband was ill for many years before his death in October 2021, suffering from a form of elephantitis, a rare disease whose signature characteristic is the extreme swelling of various areas of the body. “He was anti-life and while he had been Catholic, he turned away from religion completely. Once he was finally diagnosed, the doctors speculated that he might have been bitten by a mosquito carried into the U.S. in the luggage of our neighbors, who were missionaries,” explained Jones. “When COVID arrived, he suffered a massive stroke, and I was unable to see him for months while he was in the hospital.”
After a stint in rehab, Jeff Jones came home but was in and out of the hospital until his death.
While Stacey Jones was caring for her husband, she continued working at Menard’s in Portage, her employer for more than 15 years. There, a kindly customer noticed her crying one day. “He asked if I was okay, and I ended up telling him that my husband was dying,” Jones said.
“He introduced himself as Gary Graves and mentioned the sacrament for the sick, and even called the hospital to ask them to send a priest to his room,” Jones recalled. “My husband got the Anointing of the Sick at St. Mary Medical Center because of Gary, and we became friends.” Shortly afterward, Jeff Jones died.
Graves, a crane operator at Cleveland Cliffs Inc. steel mill, had been married with three sons, but lost one child in an accident and was divorced when he met Jones. “I grew up Presbyterian, but was baptized Methodist as an adult. I married into a Catholic family, and my mother-in-law wanted me to become Catholic,” said Graves. “Father David Kime (pastor at Queen of All Saints in Michigan City) is my former brother-in-law, and I went into the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) program with him in 2003 and converted.
“I fell away from the Church after my divorce, and my wife got an annulment,” said Graves. “I found myself alone in church, and I didn’t feel the fellowship anymore.”
As friends, Graves asked Jones to go to church with him, and she admitted, “It’s been a long time. He said, ‘Me, too.’ Soon after, on a Sunday, we walked into Nativity holding hands.”
Jones began attending RCIA classes with Gary’s brother George, soon meeting Deacon Dennis Guernsey. “We had another great group of people that came through RCIA this year,” he said. “Actually, at the Easter Vigil, we are planning for 17 people to enter into full communion with the Church. Janet, my wife, is the director of our RCIA program and we have a team of close to 20 people who really make the RCIA journey personal for those coming in.”
Graves and Jones started talking about marriage last fall and Graves said, “I told her I’d like to be married in church, to make that commitment, and I asked her about becoming Catholic.” They got engaged on Oct. 28, 2022, and are planning a June 24 wedding at Nativity of Our Savior. “Father Kime gave Gary guidance about returning to the Church, and he will officiate at our marriage,” said Jones, who has become friends with her fiance’s first wife, Denise.
“We called (Father Kime) to tell him our intentions, and he immediately said, ‘How do you want me to make this happen?’ and the stars just aligned for that date with him and the church (being available),” said Graves.
“We both volunteered at Nativity’s recent fish fry, and it was a blast,” added Jones, who has been welcomed by the faith community as well as Graves’ family. “They are my people,” she said.
Graves said he is very much looking forward to the wedding. “We have the same values – and that’s important – we are compatible, and now we share the same faith,” he said.