The Jones family of Beverly finally got to attend the South Side Irish Parade on Sunday.
And the Joneses were the guest of honor of the guest of honor.
The family members were on the float for the parade’s grand marshal, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.
The tens of thousands of parade goers who braved the cold upper 30-degree temperatures with a snowflake or two dropping saw a happy family on the float.
Dave and Meghan Jones, plus their children — Bobby, Joey, Jameson and Jack — were smiling laughing and waving from the McDonald’s float.
But two years ago, they weren’t smiling or laughing too much.
Joey, James and Jack are triplets born March 11, 2022 prematurely. That July, all three were rushed to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood as they suffered from respiratory syncytial virus.
“They were pretty much fighting for their lives,” Meghan said. “They were just a few months old at that time and with them being preemies, their lungs weren’t fully developed.
“When they got RSV, it was really scary.”
The Ronald McDonald House organization went to bat for the Jones clan twice.
When the triplets were born early, they spent nine months at Oak Lawn’s Advocate Christ Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit.
“They filled the family room there with food for us,” Meghan said of the Ronald McDonald House. “We didn’t need to worry about meals while we there, which is great.”
But the organization wasn’t done helping.
During the triplets’ two-week stay in Maywood, the rest of the family was able to spend time at nearby Ronald McDonald House facilities.
That allowed Dave and Meghan to be with their babies 24 hours a day.
“The house was a great resource at the time,” Dave said. “It took a lot off our plate. Loyola is about an hour away from us so it would have been rough having to worry about going back and forth and splitting time at the hospital.
“Mentally, we were able to focus on helping the kids get better. It took a lot off of our shoulders so we could focus on what was important.”
The proper medicine was applied and when it kicked in, the triplets were able to head back to Beverly.
Dave is a Chicago native who works in customer service at ShipBob, a commerce fulfillment company that started in 2014. Meghan is a Homer Glen native and a substitute teacher at St. Barnabas.
Both are happy to report the triplets have had no medical troubles since summer 2022.
The triplets celebrated their first birthday in 2023 and the parade was scheduled a day after the party. Meghan said they were exhausted wo they missed it last year, but were ready for it this year.
There were more than 100 entrants for the 2024 parade, including many schools and civic organizations.
Smith Village’s senior living facility, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, was a parade honoree. Mary Kate Barron was the Irish Parade Queen.
On an unusual note, Evergreen Park native Jamie Keeton, who goes by the name of Can Head, was at the parade.
He holds the Guinness World Records for most drink cans that can stick to his head.
He was born with unique skin.
“My skin pores literally suck in oxygen at a high rate,” he said. “It makes the cans stick to the skin.”
Keeton lives in Florida and Kenosha, Wisconsin, said he has traveled all over the world and he appeared at the Chicago parade Saturday. He makes appearances at events and markets for companies via the ability to stick cans on his face.
Once the parade started, the viewing areas were crowded. But a few minutes before the noon kickoff, it appeared the cold was going to keep people away as there weren’t as many people as usual.
But Christine Kraemer of Beverly and her daughter, Mackenzie, were there waiting patiently for a half hour after an hour walk to get to their spot.
“We come out here just about every year,” Christine said. “It started for me when I went to school in first grade. I was in the parade for the Girl Scouts and we just keep coming back.”
Christine said she loves so many things about the parade.
“I love the music, and everybody getting along,” she said. “I love the floats and the marching bands…just everything.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
