Longtime downtown Cape bartender Marcellus Jones remembered by friends

�Yeah, I know Marcellus too. ...�

Marcellus Jones was popular enough Buckner�s put his name on a T-shirt.

That legend is how Josh Lynn first encountered Marcellus Jones, or Cellus, as he was known to many friends.

Jones died unexpectedly over the weekend of natural causes. He was 50 years old.

Originally from San Antonio, according to his Facebook page, �He was very much a hometown hero,� Lynn said of Jones, who was the manager of Buckner Brewing Co. at 132 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau.

Jones was a bartender and bar manager, and a presence in several other areas: He was a big supporter of the local economy and of the arts scene, and was also on a local rugby team, Lynn said.

�The dude always had a smile,� Lynn said. �His attitude really is the thing. He exuded it, and it was contagious.�

Anytime he walked into a room, Lynn said, there were 100 people who needed to shake his hand, give him a hug.

�That�s the part I�ll always remember, his big beaming smile, always happy to be there,� Lynn said.

�He�s such a bright light, it�s hard to even have a sad thought about him,� Lynn said.

Old Town Cape director Marla Mills called Jones �iconic to downtown,� not just in the image he presented, but in the way he made people feel: special.

�He loved what he did, and he loved people,� Mills said of Jones. �He made people happy to be a part of that.�

That�s why he was so good at what he did, Mills said, �but he also helped move the excitement and synergy forward in anything he touched. He�ll be missed, definitely.�

A GoFundMe campaign in Jones� honor had raised almost $11,000 in the first 24 hours, as of Monday night, and garnered dozens of comments, pictures and memories.

Jim Beasley, a financial adviser with Edward Jones in Jackson, said Jones was the cornerstone of downtown Cape Girardeau.

�He was my friend, but he was everyone else�s friend, too,� Beasley said. �You can�t really even begin to understand the amount of people he knew and loved.�

Beasley said when he was asked to take a picture of a group, Jones would take a few pictures of himself, then of the group, �So, as they looked through the phone later, they would see his big smile on their phone.�

Doug Childers, a catering sales manager in Chicago, played on the Kohlfeld Scorpions Rugby Club team with Jones. When he joined in 1995, Jones was also fairly new to the team, Childers said, and had played football at Southeast Missouri State University.

�Right from the start, we were really good friends,� he said, adding they were roommates for about three years.

Childers said Jones was �probably one of the toughest guys, so much energy, and he always had a smile on his face, no matter what.

�He was the best person I�ve ever met in my life, and I�ve met a lot of people,� Childers said, his voice breaking.

Memorial service plans had not yet been announced as of Monday afternoon.

Ford and Sons Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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