Jones, Seth Robert, age 31, of St. Paul, died tragically in a traffic accident on Jan. 20. Star salesman for Hillside Technology Solutions in Minneapolis. Seth is survived by his loving wife, Jessica; daughter Amelia and son Ethan; parents Ruth & James; siblings Andy, John, and Amy, and many nieces, nephews, and countless friends. Seth was a dynamic presence whether on the job or out with friends. His fun-loving nature and shining personality made him a joy to be around. He will be remembered for his love for life and his generous nature. Funeral 1 PM Sat., January 28th, Berquist Funeral Home, 9920 Northern St., St. Paul. Visitation two hours prior. Memorials preferred and will be used for his children’s education fund.
Seth is dead. My best friend. I still can’t believe it. We were just together Saturday night at Drew’s. We closed the place down, like usual. But I didn’t think Seth had drank that much, he didn’t seem drunk, so it couldn’t have been the alcohol, right? Like always he was busy being the life of the party. The guy knew more jokes than any man I have ever known. Pretty sure he could have made a living doing stand-up comedy. And darts. The guy could toss a dart. Talk about a ringer, you never bet against Seth! Just before we left, we were making plans to watch the football game the next day; but Seth never made it home.
He was so proud of his brand new company car, he only picked it up a few days ago. He wasn’t supposed to be driving it to the bar, I guess, but he just had to show it off. It was pretty sweet, too. There wasn’t much was left of it, I’m told. I just can’t imagine what happened. Seth was a good driver; I had ridden with him many times. But no one would ever accuse him of driving slow, he got a ticket last month for doing 85 in a 60 mph zone. If I had thought he was too drunk I would never have let him drive.
The girl in the other car died, too; I hear she was one of those churchy types. Seth never had time for church. His mom was really into the Bible and Seth resented that a lot. He didn’t talk much about his childhood, but when he did it was always about that. He blamed his mom’s Bible thumping for driving his dad away. His face always turned red when he talked about it and it’s the only time I really ever saw him rage. He was angry at God. Well, I guess he didn’t really believe in God, but if there is a God, Seth sure was angry with him. Church was one place no one was ever going to find Seth Jones.
What use would he have for church anyway? Seth was so well-respected. I mean by everyone. At work his winsome style made him the star of their sales force. He sold more last year than the next two salespeople combined. No wonder they gave him that fancy car. His customers loved him and his boss loved him even more. And his wife, Jessica. She really loved him. Though to be honest, I sometimes wonder why. Seth liked to party, he spent a lot of time with us at Drew’s. His smooth style attracted girls. He never cheated on Jessica, but he sure flirted sometimes. It was all harmless, of course. But I think Jessica was far more patient than most wives would be.
He loved his kids. Didn’t spend as much time with them as he thought he should, but when he did, he was as good a father as a kid could hope for. He gave them everything they wanted and he made them feel special. Most people would never know it, I guess, but those kids were his world. He really loved those kids. I remember the day Ethan learned to ride his bike. Wow! Seth was so proud.
Oh man, I just can’t believe he’s gone. Forgive me if I start to cry. He was my best friend. We’d known each other our whole lives. We went to school together, played football together, we even went to college together. Except he got his degree in business and I got a ‘real’ degree in engineering. Then again, I guess someone has to sell what we engineers invent. Seth never stopped making sure I knew my inventions were worthless without someone to sell them. That guy could sell a fishing boat to a desert dweller. He was that good.
I wonder where he is now. I mean, he didn’t really believe in God. Neither of us did. We were into science; but science doesn’t explain what happens when we die. We talked about it sometimes. What happens when we die. Seth thought maybe there would be a bright light, or God, or something. But mostly we guessed life just ended – that we merely went in the ground and rotted away. Worm food. We joked about death a lot, I guess because it seemed so far away. But now that he’s really dead, I don’t want to imagine that. Not at all. There must be something after. Because Seth can’t just be gone.
Life’s never going to be the same.
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Seth and his friend didn’t believe in God, or heaven, or hell, or Jesus. They trusted in science, or so they said, but we find that few people truly believe in a universe that rushes out aimlessly and without purpose. Indeed, God has placed the knowledge of himself in our hearts and, when we are honest with ourselves, we know deep down inside that heaven and hell are real. Hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42). But God and Jesus made a way for us so that “now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Like Seth and his friend, many of us tend to think we have another year, or month, or day; but in reality we may not even have another minute. Time is of the essence. Won’t you please reach out to God right here, right now?
To find out what happened to Seth when he died, please click here.
To learn more about God, please click here: knowgod.org
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