Canzano: Former Trail Blazer Caldwell Jones answered one final question before his death

PORTLAND, OREGON  -- Caldwell Jones attended the 7:30 a.m. service at the Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, on Sunday morning. After church, as he always does with his wife and three daughters, Jones went to brunch.

"We have a rule at the table," his wife, Vanessa, said. "No cell phones. We either play cards, or we ask someone in the group to give a synopsis of the church message or I give a writing prompt and we all write a short essay."

Caldwell Jones would be dead hours later after suffering a heart attack. He was 64. The former Trail Blazer known nicknamed "Pops" by Terry Porter will be remembered for his time as a basketball player, but Vanessa would like, too, for you to know about his final hours.

"I give the writing prompt," she said, "and everybody writes. Reading, writing, classical music, these were 'us' things."

Her husband had become an avid reader and was mentoring young children, who were learning to read. In fact, their three daughters — Zori (21), Maya (18) and Leah (13) — had all grown up with trips to bookstores and libraries with their father.

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