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NATCHEZ — Natchezian Regina Jones sat on her home’s front porch on Rankin Street close to where The Dart landed Friday.

She has called Natchez home for 62 years, she said.

She is a graduate of North Natchez High School. After high school, she said she went to Co-Lin Community College and earned her associate’s degree. Then, she went to Alcorn State University for her bachelor’s degree. Next, she began working towards a master’s degree in guidance counseling at Alcorn State, she said.

“I got Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and I was two semesters short of a master’s,” Jones said. “I wanted to work with children in school. Working with children was my ambition. We have a lot of lost children. Sometimes they won’t talk to their parents, and sometimes they will only talk to a guidance counselor.”

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, cancer in the blood, ended her master’s degree studies. She said she was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma. Her chemo treatment last for 18 months, she said. Chemo took care of cancer, but she did not go back to finish her master’s program.

“I had to go to different facilities to do volunteer work. That is what I miss,” Jones said. “I never did go back and finish. I have done other work like paralegal work. I wish I had finished it.”

Additionally, she said she taught at Joseph Frazier elementary school, was an in-school suspension teacher and worked as an office manager. She said she retired this year.

Three things bring her joy in life. God, her family and her three grandbabies, she said. Sitting on her front porch, she can enjoy the quiet. Since she has retired, she has had more time to relax on her porch, watch TV and clean her home, she said.

Cooking is another joy in her life, she said. Her mom taught her how to make red beans and rice when she was 13, and she has been cooking ever since, she said.

“I love to cook,” Jones said. “My favorite dish to make is glazed chicken with rice and sweet potatoes. I love the way it looks when I get through with it. I’m not a touching person. I hate when the food touches. I love to cook, but I don’t cook as much as I used to.”