Ronald Weston Jones

1941 - 2020

Ronald Jones Ronald Weston Jones, 79, died peacefully at home on June 10, 2020, after a brief battle with cancer. He was a loving husband and father who made us laugh every day and who will be missed every minute. Ron was born in Kansas City, KS, on April 1, 1941, to the late Joseph Weston and Dorothy (Broderick) Jones. He spent his days riding bikes and playing baseball with his friends friends he'd keep for the next seven decades. He loved his childhood and was proud to be an Overland Park native, especially as the city grew before his eyes. Always a hard worker, Ron held a variety of jobs throughout middle and high school, including at the movie theatre in down town Overland Park. He also worked as a paperboy for the Kansas City Star (and would read the paper daily for the rest of his life). After high school Ron enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and then the Army. He spent three years as a tank operator in Germany, where he made lots of fond memories, traveled through Europe, met family in Ireland and did a lot of growing up. He returned to Overland Park a different man, and soon ran into Janice Greening, whom he'd met at a bowling alley years before. In 1966, they got married and moved to a cul-de-sac in Lenexa, where they raised three children amidst a happy jumble of block parties and BBQs, shenanigans upon shenanigans, and neighbors who became lifelong friends. Upon completing his military service, Ron began his career as an Inside Wireman for IBEW Local 124, where he remained until retirement. He was a proud union member for more than 50 years, and was also proud of all he accomplished during that period. In his later years there was rarely a drive around town that didn't include Ron stating "That building was wired by these hands." Above all, Ron was a devoted family man. He coached all three of his children's soccer teams and at served as the president of Southwest United Soccer Club for some time. His family accounted for all of his happiest moments and his absolute hardest one, too: the loss of his daughter Stephanie, who died in 1988 at just 15 years old. It was only when his children brought home their spouses, whom he adored and soon loved as his own, that he began to recover from the heart-breaking loss. His grandchildren, Jack and Elle, were instrumental in his healing, too. He reveled in being a grandfather: in watching them ride their bikes, in listening to their silly jokes and stories, in building TinkerToy playgrounds and battling with little green Army men. His grandchildren were the apple of his eye and, in his opinion, could do no wrong. Besides work and family, Ron loved to garden. He had enormous flower and vegetable gardens, and especially loved to grow and give away tomatoes. He was a history buff, particularly when it came to WWII, and could frequently be found absorbed in a history book or show. He was a lifelong Democrat, passionate KU basketball fan, and regular at Henhouse for lottery tickets. He read the newspaper every day his favorite section was this one. He scanned the obituaries each morning, reading aloud whatever he found interesting (and, as his granddaughter would say, "he found a lot of things interesting"). Ron will be remembered as incredibly loyal, to his family, his union, his friends, and his city, and deeply compassionate to everyone he came across. He will be remembered as extremely funny, with a wicked sense of humor that put everyone at ease. Now that he's gone, we will miss his constant chatter. We will miss his sass, his charm, his jokes. We will not miss having to be everywhere 30 minutes early, but we will miss ribbing him over his stringent punctuality. Heck, we will even miss his stubbornness. Ron is predeceased by his daughter Stephanie Lee Jones; his parents Joseph Weston and Dorothy (Broderick) Jones; and his aunt Eva Rea (Jones). He is survived by his bride of 53 years, Janice Lee (Greening) Jones; his son, Robert Weston Jones (Jenny), of Shawnee, KS; his daughter Elizabeth Anne Pietro (Michael) of San Diego, CA; his grandchildren Jack Weston Jones and Elle Alexis Pietro; his baby sister, Deborah Jones (Paula Roberts), of Tucson, AZ; brother-in-law Jim Greening (Diana) of Austin, TX; brother-in-law Bill Forson of Elijay, GA; and many dear nephews, nieces, and cousins. A celebration of Ron's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes in-memoriam donations to Harvesters or The Veterans Community Project.