Ronald William Jones

Ronald William Jones
of New Hartford, N.Y.
Ronald William Jones, 79, of New Hartford, N.Y., passed away unexpectedly September 3 after a brief illness. Ron was born in Buffalo, N.Y. on April 3, 1929, the first son of Edward and Freda Jones. Ron met his future wife of 55 years, Beverly Clement while attending Cornell University, where he received his Master's degree in electrical engineering. After serving in the Navy, where he reached the rank of Lieutenant, Ron began working for the General Electric Corporation as an engineer in the defense and aeronautic divisions until his retirement in 1989. Work took Ron and his family to many parts of the country - California, Ohio, New York, Florida, and Vermont - but regardless of where he was, he was active as a parishioner, lector, and youth minister. He served as Parish Council President at St. Margaret Mary's Catholic Church in Apalachin, N.Y., and in that capacity oversaw the funding and building of a state of the art church hall. Also at St. Margaret Mary's, Ronald, with his wife, Beverly, conceived and directed the first Stations of the Cross, reenacted by high school students, which continues every year to this day. In the 1960's-70's, every Halloween, Ron used his engineering talents to design and build a Haunted House, with sheet-lined corridors throughout the Jones home, enlisting the help of the whole neighborhood and entertaining thousands of children. Ron and his family have hosted exchange students from Norway, Denmark, Mexico and India. Ronald is survived by his wife, Beverly; children, Suzanne Jones, Lake Worth, Fla., Christine Banner (David), Binghamton, N.Y., Philip Jones (Beth), Boston, Mass., Heidi Young (Jeffrey), Buffalo, N.Y., and Terence Jones (Jenny), Austin, Tex. Another son, Durl Edward Jones, died in 1968. He also leaves behind his brothers, Edward, Thomas, and William; and a sister, Ann. His grandchildren, Kelsey, Kerry, Carolyn, Gareth and Anthony will miss him deeply. Ron's family, friends, co-workers, and the children and teens he has touched throughout his life serve as a better testimony to a life well-lived than these few words can convey.
A Memorial Mass will be held for Ronald at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 66 Oxford Road, New Hartford, N.Y., at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, September 8th.