On the 26^th day of November in the nineteen hundred and ninety ninth year of the Lord, Albert Donnelson Jones left us. He was born in San Jose, California on July 7^th, 1949, and he passed away in his 5-year-old home at the age of 50 years in Dallas, Texas. Albert, commonly called "Al," had a passion for the opera, classical music, and the theatre. He wrote music in his free time, and according to members of his family, he, in the early parts of his life, was an extraordinary violinist. By profession, he was a lawyer. Among his numerous accomplishments and victories in court, Al was most recognized for winning cases representing rape victims. Colleagues remember him as being "a committed, hardworking shark in the courtroom whose zeal for the life (and the law) guaranteed further success."

Unfortunately, at age 34, when he was approximately 5 months from becoming a partner at his firm, Albert was the victim of a tragic gunshot incident. On the night of December 12^th, 1983, an infamous former defendant of a case that was decided in Albert’s client’s favor had seen Albert from afar and proceeded to take out his 9 millimeter and shoot him in the head. His daughter, who was then 12 years old, recalls, "It was a miracle that he even lived. The bullet went straight through the front of his head." X-rays showed that there was severe damage to the frontal lobe of his brain. The doctors diagnosed him with frontal lobe damage. Albert was forced to take a leave of absence from his job for five months in order to recover. Despite his efforts, he would not be able to apply for the position of partner at the firm that year. The most shocking outcome is that he didn’t seem to care.

This was the turning point in Albert Jones’ life. His now ex-wife, bears in mind the emotional anguish that each member of the family experienced, every member, except Albert himself: "At first, we dismissed his callous behavior as shock, but after about a month, we thought he had turned into some type of zombie. My "Alby", the career-driven, perfect husband had transformed into an unsympathetic, unfocused disappointment." The family members often speak of how at first they tried to console him and tolerate his emotionless state, but eventually, they forced him to see a psychiatrist. Their psychiatrist then submitted Albert to a neurologist he knew. The neurologist explained Albert’s condition to the family saying that he had what scientists call frontal lobe damage disorder. In order to help the Jones’s understand the condition further, he referred the family to a book called Descartes’ Error by Antonio Damasio. Within the book, they found a case that resembled Albert in virtually the exact same manner. The case study is of a man named Elliot. After the incident, Albert’s colleagues confirmed that the description of Elliot was a pretty accurate reflection of Albert: "He needed prompting to get started in the morning and prepare to go to work. Once at work he was unable to manage his time properly; he could not be trusted with a schedule… One might say that Elliot had become irrational concerning the larger frame of behavior, which pertained to subsidiary tasks, his actions were unnecessary detailed" (36). Albert’s career was over. His wife decided that there was nothing she could do, and when their daughter was at an age where she could be independent, his wife filed for divorce. Albert, without any emotion, agreed and ended up living the rest of his life alone, periodically under his daughter’s care.

Currently, his daughter has pursued a career in medicine and has dedicated her life to exploring the condition and trying to develop theories and solutions relative to these types of conditions. "There are many things to consider on many different levels with these types of cases. This simply proves that the brain has a major effect upon every aspect of our lives. In my father’s case, it wasn’t even the entire brain, rather, just a small portion, the frontal lobe. In our daily lives, we must learn to maintain a balance of the mental and physical realms of life and how they influence each other. With this in mind, we must develop strategies to cure both the physical and mental aspects of a disease." Albert should be very proud.

Albert’s funeral ceremonies will commence at Bob’s Funeral Home this coming Sunday at 4:00 pm. Lastly, we look at Albert and shall always remember what he was and what he became, and the people that supported him throughout. Albert Donnelson Jones survived by his daughter, Anna and younger brother, Christopher. Albert Jones was preceded in death by his older brother, Robert. May God rest their souls.

Albert Jones has passed on, but he should be remembered, not only by his family and friends, but also by people all over. Additionally, human beings should realize the value of being able to feel their emotions, for it is a gift that molds each action and experience of our lives. Do not take for granted what you have been blessed with.