Jerry Fortner Jones passed away after a brief illness May 30, 2012, at his home in Carson City, Nevada. From 1955 to 1999, when he retired to Carson City, Jerry had a thriving dental practice on Herschel Avenue in La Jolla. Born in Chicago, January 19, 1928, Jerry met his first wife, Dee Jackson, in England when he was stationed with the U. S. Army in Germany after the war. They married in 1951 and moved to Chicago, IL, where Jerry was awarded his D.D.S. from Northwestern University. After a residency at the Lexington (KY) Narcotics Hospital and as a Dental Officer with the U. S. Coast Guard in Port Angeles, WA, Jerry and his family settled in La Jolla in 1955, where he opened his dental practice.
Always interested in science, Jerry assisted his friend, John Taylor of the Naval Visibility Lab, in creating bite boards for binoculars used by Apollo astronauts. In the 80's, he and Dr. Lee Monroe, M.D. of Scripps Clinic (deceased) co-founded ISCBR (International Society for Correlative Biological Research), which for many years was involved in furthering science by sponsoring students planning to go to medical or veterinarian school.
Jerry was fond of nutrition, exercise, cigars, jokes and martinis. He was a golfer, tennis player, fisherman, world traveler and football fan, enjoying all types of sporting activities. Always creative, Jerry dabbled in many forms of art from sand casting to oil painting to making gold pieces from shells and sea life he found diving for abalone at La Jolla Cove. In the 50's and '60's he was a member of La Jolla Kiwanis, volunteering for the Rough Water Swim and other community events. He always enjoyed judging the San Diego Science Fair.
He was also a loyal supporter of the arts, collecting many pieces by La Jolla artists, and donating a number of George Mattson's watercolors to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He and his family were some of the original supporters of "The Art Center" of La Jolla, now the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Jerry is survived by his loving wife, Joy Reynolds-Jones; children, Cynthia Jones (Joe Sheetz), Lisa Dent (Will Witman) and Dylan (Robin) Jones; and stepdaughter, Melodie Swanson. Also surviving him is his first wife Dee (Jones) Jackson of La Jolla; grandchildren, Jenica Faye, Caitlin and Larkin Dent, and Kyle Jones; and step-grandchildren, Olivia and Maxwell. He was preceded in death by his parents, Asa and Marie Jones; sister, Jean; and brother, Tom.
His friends and family will cherish the many fond and amusing memories he has left them.
A private memorial is planned for a future date.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made in memory of Jerry F. Jones to support the Education Program at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Checks should be made payable to "UC San Diego Foundation" and sent to: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, Attn: Development, 9500 Gilman Drive-MC 0210, La Jolla, CA 92093-0210; or online at: http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/Members_and_Friends/Give_Now/; or the Western Region Wildlife Education, NDOW-FSS, 4600 Kietzke Lane, Suite D-137, Reno, NV 89502.
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Published in La Jolla Light on June 14, 2012
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