Rodney T. Jones

1928 - 2023

Rodney T. Jones
July 12, 1928 - February 22, 2023
Rodney T. Jones, beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully at Portola Gardens Assisted Living Community in San Francisco on Feb. 22 at the age of 94.
He was born in 1928 in Seattle to Jeanette (Teegarden) Jones and Edward Pearson Jones. He spent his formative years living on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound. His father was an officer in the U.S. Navy. The family relocated to Ohio and then Washington, D.C. Rodney graduated from the Randolph-Macon Academy of Front Royal, Va., in 1946. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Rodney served in the U.S. Navy in the Korean Service and was stationed in Japan, where he met his future wife, Kikuko (Umezawa) Jones, marrying her there in 1953. After leaving the Navy, Rodney remained in Japan, working first at the Nippon (Japan) Times in Tokyo as a copy editor and then at the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper. During this time he was also a stage actor and comedian with the Tokyo Playhouse.
He returned to the United States in 1957 with his wife and firstborn son, Galen, settling in the Mojave Desert town of Morongo Valley to be near his father and mother. He worked as an editor at the Hi-Desert Star newspaper of Yucca Valley. Two years later, Rodney moved his family, now including another son, Edwin, to San Francisco to join the San Francisco Chronicle as a copy editor. He worked at the morning newspaper for nearly 50 years, with assignments as a copy editor and copy chief for the news and business sections. He was a member of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, Local 35921. He retired from the paper in 2009 at the age of 80.
Rodney was a devoted family man and called home during his lunch hour in the early evening to speak with his wife and sons. He enjoyed the outdoors and hiking and brought his sons on many hikes in the Bay Area and the Sierra Nevada. The family also enjoyed road trips during the summers in the western United States, Canada and Mexico.
Rodney had many interests and hobbies, and he shared with his family his love of learning, reading, gardening, carpentry, auto repair, wine making, painting and music.
After a marriage of nearly 50 years, his wife, Kikuko, passed away in 2002. Rodney's younger brother, Hugh, also preceded him in death.
He is survived by his life companion, Young Choi; sons, Galen and Edwin; grandchildren, Zachary and Aaron; and great-grandchildren, Isabella, Jayden, Jase Rodney, Ava Marie, Elaynarose Kikulyn, Evolynclaire, Emberlynn, Gannon, Phoenix, Charlotte, Everleigh, and Relix.
A private family service will be held later in the year.