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Roger, I don't know if you saw, but we had a solar eclipse over parts of Europe earlier this evening. It was best viewed from Spain, but we were meant to have pretty good views here. Sadly, although it got quite dark around 7pm, I had cloud cover where I live. I liked the trailer for a later news show on TV last night. They were going to be interviewing Queen guitarist Brian May, who also has a PhD in astrophysics, about the eclipse, and said he'd be telling you why for this time only you shouldn't "Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see". I'm sure it was only going to be a warning about looking at the sun, but I liked the lyrics tie-in. In case you don't recognize the words, it's the third line of this:

I met Ben Jones ( and the other DOH Stars) at the “Hazard County Fair “ in Macon Ga when I was 16 years old . The Macon Telegraph had and article about the event and many people had negative comments . I thought the event was great and enjoyed my time meeting several of the cast members. I wrote a review about the Event and how much I enjoyed it and apparently it found its way to Ben . He actually called me ( after he came to my small hometown of Henderson Ga and I was out of town) . He stopped at the only store in our Un-Incorporated town and spoke with several of the farmers ( one of whom gave him my phone # ) and community members who often stopped in the store to talk about the day and buy a soda or snack. He left me several items including an autographed photo that I still have 44 years later . He impressed me so much as a teenager because he took time out of his busy life to find a 16 YO country girl in a small unknown town to just say thank you ! RIP Ben “Cooter”! Susan Thames Newton

Thank you for this lovely obituary. I send my sincere condolences to Alma and all the family. I watch The Dukes of Hazzard on a regular basis (on DVD) and will always be a big fan of the show. Thank you Ben for all what you did on the show and afterwards keeping the show alive. Rest in peace Ben Jones. 🙏🏻 (from England)

I just wanted to send my condolences and my prayers to Alma. I grew up watching the dukes of hazzard. I always thought cooter was funny and loveable. And a duke at heart Im so sorry alma for losing ben cooter Davenport. I hope alma keeps the dukes store up and running in memory of Ben cooter Davenport Jones. Rip Ben Jones u will be forever missed by everyone the cast and fans of the dukes of hazzard

Thank you so much to the Jones family for sharing Ben through the years and for his dedication to making this world a better place for all of us. I took my 82 year old father to Cooter’s Place, Pigeon Forge, this past fall and it gave us both such wonderful memories. My prayers are with Ben’s family as they mourn his loss. We KNOW that he’s seen the face of Jesus and is entertaining angels at this very moment. ❤️

I never had the pleasure of meeting Ben. I did get to watch him as Crazy C or Cooter. Loved The Dukes Of Hazzard show very much. Still have my boxed collection and watch them daily. I pray that Alma and his kids have strength and comfort above from the Lord. He will be missed but never forgotten. Sending prayers to all and especially his many friends and fans.

Unfortunately, it's true. His wife Alma confirmed he passed of a heart attack while waiting for the Braves' game to come on. He would've been happy to see them beat the Yankees today.