By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Many people have heard the story of Dick and Mary Lou Jones, a SeaTac couple, who were killed just a few blocks from their home on Dec. 19. A young woman, fleeing from police, crashed a stolen car into the Joneses' car at South 188th Street and International Boulevard South, near the Sea-Tac International Airport.

What some might not realize is that the Joneses were the former owners and founders of the Chelsea Station bed & breakfast located at 4915 Linden Ave. N in Fremont.

Chelsea Station is currently owned by Carolanne and Eric Watness, who bought the business in 1998.

According to Karen Carbonneau, a former innkeeper at Chelsea Station who worked for the Joneses, the couple met through work (both used to be in health care) and discovered they shared an interest in the travel and hospitality industry.

"They had a great love of B&Bs and guest service," Carbonneau said. "They were very joyful, personable people."

Given these traits, operating a guest house was a natural choice for the Joneses when they decided retire from the medical field. The couple purchased one building of the now two-building Chelsea Station and opened the B&B with just four rooms and an apartment for themselves in 1984.

Carbonneau said the Joneses would often make friends with repeat customers, especially those who came to Seattle to visit grown children. Dick and Mary Lou both had daughters (Dick had five, Mary Lou one) from previous marriages and so had something in common with those clients, especially when the conversations would turn to grandchildren, of which the couple had several.

"Dick was a great story teller and he loved to share Seattle ... with guests," Carbonneau said.

"They were very easy going, easy people to be with."

The couple were also instrumental in starting two industry groups while they owned Chelsea Station: the Washington State Bed & Breakfast Association and the Seattle Bed & Breakfast Association.

However, by 1994 the couple had decided it was time for a change and they sold Chelsea Station to John Griffin who added a second building to the establishment. Griffin later sold the business to the current owners, the Watnesses.

Since selling Chelsea Station, the Joneses had split their time between Washington and Arizona where Mary Lou's daughter lives. The couple had just celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary when they were killed.