Colleen Jones, the world champion curler whose flamboyant personality made her a CBC staple for nearly four decades with the national broadcaster, has died. She was 65.
In early 2023, Jones was diagnosed with cancer. Her son Luke Saunders announced her death Tuesday morning in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Mom has been fighting and trying to beat cancer for the last three years or so,” Saunders said. “Late this morning, looking out over the ocean from her favorite spot in Maders Cove, Mom passed away with my dad, brother and me by my side.
“Please think about your favorite Colleen Jones moment and cherish it. Hurry up and love hard.”
A native of Halifax, Jones was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2022. A year later, before retiring, she filed her final report with the CBC.
“A Titan in every sense of the word, from sports to life,” said CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson.
Jones won her first Canadian women's curling championship in 1982. She was only 22 years old at the time and became the youngest skip to win the competition.
In subsequent years, her curling career slowed as she focused on work and family. She joined the CBC Nova Scotia newsroom in 1986 and became the first female sports anchor in Halifax.
In 1989, Jones moved to CBC Newsworld to report on weather, sports and real-life stories, which allowed her to shed light on a variety of topics. She returned to CBC Nova Scotia in 2012.
Get the latest national news
To stay on top of news affecting Canada and the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as they happen.
Her second Scotties Tournament of Hearts title came in 1999. Jones' team of Kim Kelly, Mary-Anne Arsenault and Nancy Delahunt won four straight titles from 2001-2004.
Jones, who also won women's world titles in 2001 and 2004, was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
“Sports has given me so many moments,” she told The Canadian Press in her opening remarks. “My life is better because of it. Partly it's friendship, partly discipline, partly the joy of winning.
“Part of it is the hatred of failure that you went through. It all combined to make you who you are.”
No matter how attractive and flamboyant the athlete, Jones would easily fill a reporter's notebook with quotes. She felt comfortable on air with her easy, quirky style that added depth to her reporting.
“I think bringing stories from your backyard to your front yard and seeing everyday heroes and everyday people is really important because there are good people doing amazing things,” she said in her 2023 farewell appearance on CBC Nova Scotia.
Jones continued to curl in the following years.
She played at Scotties in 2013, won the senior women's world title in 2017 and has competed in mixed doubles and mixed team events in recent seasons.
“It’s the most natural and amazing feeling you can ever have,” she said before playing for the Nova Scotia women’s team in 2020. “It’s very exciting to keep chasing him.”
The fifth of nine children, Jones remembers howling games were a frequent topic of discussion in her younger years.
“We always talked, curled up at our huge kitchen table, which doubled as food, homework and curling talk,” she said.
Jones and her siblings were not allowed to attend the local curling club until they were 14 years old. Once there, she felt that it was love at first throw.
“It was a Saturday morning, probably seven in the morning, and I was already practicing sliding on the kitchen floor,” she recalled in an interview last September. “So I was pretty confident I could do it with the duct tape I used on my sneakers as a slider.
“I was right. It was just an automatic thought that I could do it.”
Jones also worked as a curling commentator throughout her career and covered 11 Olympic Games for CBC.
She carried work gear with her when she played in major championships and often switched to broadcast mode if her team was eliminated.
“I was just in the thick of it, still playing against everyone, talking to everyone and learning from everyone,” she said.
Longtime CBC Sports colleague Scott Russell said Jones is “absolutely driven by passion,” whether on the ice or behind the microphone.
“I'll tell you there is no greater curling champion than Collin Jones,” he said last September. “And she's an absolutely iconic Canadian TV personality.”
Jones and reporter Devin Gero co-hosted “That's the Curling Show” on CBC from 2021-2024.
“She made people believe that something wonderful was going to happen,” Heroux said. “And once you believed it, you felt invincible with Colleen.”
Jones has also been involved in coaching in recent years. Last March, she was on the Montana Brier bench to lead a Nova Scotia team that included her son Luke as vice-skip.
Jones is also survived by her husband, Scott Saunders, and another son, Zach.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
