Flowers from the heart
By JOE L. HUGHES II Ledger Staff Writer joe@gaffneyledger.com

Jackie Alford (left), who owns and operates Jon Ellen's Flowers & Gifts, is shown here speaking with Interim Hospice Care volunteer coordinator Sue Onken a few weeks ago.

For years, local florist Jackie Alford has helped make the most difficult of circumstances a bit easier with her colorful flower arrangements and other gifts.

Now a local organization believes it is time to give her recognition for the contributions she has made to the community.

"Jackie is an amazing person, and there are few people I can think of who are as giving as she is," Interim Hospice Care volunteer Paula Boggs said. "She has been giving more than flowers. She has been giving a piece of herself so others could feel better about themselves."

Alford, who owns and operates Jon Ellen's Flowers & Gifts on Granard Street in Gaffney, has provided floral arrangements for the Cherokee County branch of Interim Hospice Care for much of the past two years. Alford has absorbed much of the cost in providing up to 18 patients a slice of optimism during this time, earning her a lot of respect from the nonprofit organization.

"All of this comes from the heart and we have seen that the patients respond very well to the flowers," Interim Hospice Care volunteer LeAnn Phillips said. "Alford definitely makes the latter years of these patients much better.

"The patients enjoy these flowers so much that it is sometimes hard to get them back."

Originally, volunteers went to Alford hoping to get flowers left over from weddings, parties and other occasions. But the florist would not allow them to give her any money, using the common notion that "it is better to give than receive."

"There were several occasions where we tried to get things and she would not take our money," Boggs said. "Time after time she gives and that is simply the type of person she is."

The flowers, which come on a weekly basis are according to volunteers at Interim "the highlight of the week" for patients at the hospice facility. But Alford, a wife and mother of two, has also done her share of giving outside her place of business, providing a wealth of goodwill to a group of newcomers to the county.

"There were two Mormon kids new to the county who were fulfilling their mission as part of their faith," Boggs said. "But Alford, also of the Mormon faith, began caring for them by giving food and other services at that time and has been doing so for much of the past few years.

"It is that type of unconditional giving that makes her one of the top 10 citizens in this county. In my opinion, she does that much."