George Jones Remembered in Dogwood Planting Ceremony
It was a year ago today that country music legend George Jones passed away due to Hypoxic Respiratory Failure at the age of 81. On Saturday, friends, fans, and family, including George’s widow Nancy, country star Larry Gatlin, and others gathered at the Woodlawn Cemetery on Thompson Lane in the Berry Hill portion of southern Nashville to honor George and to plant two Dogwood trees in his memory. The event was open to the public, and fans began to congregate early in the morning to witness the ceremony that transpired at 1:00 PM.
The two dogwoods were planted on either side of the “He Stopped Loving Her Today” monument that was unveiled at the Woodlawn Cemetery on November 18th, 2013. Members of George’s family did the honor of placing the trees and helping to fill the holes of the two Dogwoods. “This day is going to be bittersweet,” says Nancy Jones. “I know how much people loved George, and the love has continued even a year later. I am so fortunate for the friends and fans that George and I made through the years. I want everyone to come celebrate with us, not because he is no longer with us, but to keep his legacy alive.”
Nancy Jones, Larry Gatlin, and others spoke at the event, circled by gatherers who are still mourning the passing of one of the greatest country music artists of all time. A framed letter from the State of Tennessee Senate was also unveiled, and the ceremony culminated in the assembled crowd singing “Amazing Grace.”
Photos courtesy of the George Jones Twitter account. See additional photos.


April 26, 2014 @ 1:28 pm
Very touching. Wish I could have gone.
April 26, 2014 @ 4:06 pm
Wish I could have gone to this.
April 27, 2014 @ 4:12 am
I still can’t believe he’s really gone. I guess because I never met him, it seems like he’s not dead, because my relationship with him hasn’t changed. Then something will make me think of him and I realize he’s dead all over again and it breaks my heart.
April 27, 2014 @ 9:27 am
I was sitting in a local restaurant and the owner was have a George Jones tribute day. All Jones…all day.
I was waiting for my food, all choked up, with tears running down my face.
There they go again. Just thinking about George make me cry.
I wish he was here instead of there….
April 27, 2014 @ 10:40 am
I saw Alejandro Escovedo last night in DC. Just prior to the band taking the stage, Gerorge’s He Stopped Loving Her Today started playing over the sound system and continued to play as the band got ready to play. I’m sure that was his doing.
April 27, 2014 @ 8:51 pm
RIP to the legend.
guess everyone else is busy commenting on FGL/Aldean/Bryan
April 28, 2014 @ 9:54 am
Heading to Nashville this week. I would love to see this.
August 31, 2014 @ 12:52 pm
“That was where I first met Bobby Keys, the great saxophone player, my closest pal (we were born within hours of each other). A soul of rock and roll, a solid man, also a depraved maniac. The other guy on that gig was George Jones. They trailed in with tumbleweed following them, as if tumbleweed was their pet. Dust all over the place, a bunch of cowboys. But when George got up, we went whoa, there’s a master up there.”
by Keith Richards in Life
Summer of ’64/Rolling Stones’ first US tour