Jones always kept a smile on others’ faces

Friends agree that Dustin Jones, a 24-year-old IU graduate student who died Saturday, was always making people laugh. Whether it was on the dodgeball court or during an all-nighter, his friends said his unique sense of humor and Hoosier accent put everyone in a good mood.\nJones, who loved sports, played intramural basketball and dodgeball, and even dabbled in football and racquetball, said “We made our own uniforms for dodgeball,” Bedwell said, referring to the red-printed “Hoosier Optometrist?” T-shirts. “He got really into it but also made sure everyone else was having a good time.”\nEven in intramural dodgeball, Jones made people laugh, said Drew Hoffman, a second-year graduate student and friend of Jones.\n“He was always raising hell (with) the referees,” Hoffman said. “Everything he said was just funny and very sarcastic.”\nJones, who was a second-year graduate student in the optometry school, received his bachelor’s degree in biology from IU. The optometry program, however, is small with only about 70 students in the class, said graduate student Michael Johnson.\n“Those kids became your friends, and he became one of my better ones,” Johnson said. “He was that kid you could call in a pinch if you ever needed to.”\nSome of the best times spent with Jones were late nights studying, Hoffman said.\n“Even if I just stayed up all night studying with him, I would still have a hell of a time,” he said. \nJones, who grew up in Scottsburg, Ind., had an accent to accompany his southern Indiana upbringing, Johnson said.\n“He had this accent that kind of got everybody going sometimes,” Johnson said. “He said these weird sayings that nobody understood. I don’t think he even understood them half of the time.”\nBedwell said Jones’ presence will be missed.\n“He was passionate about everything he did,” Hoffman said. “He just loved life.”