Richard Allen Jones

Richard Allen Jones passed away peacefully into the arms of the Lord with his family by his side on March 11, 2023 at the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, after a hard fought battle with COVID.  Rick was born on April 10, 1968 in Goldsboro, North Carolina to Deloris Houston and Robert Jones.  While Rick has always considered North Carolina as the “home of his youth,” Rick lived in numerous places during his childhood, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Guam and Virginia. Ultimately, Rick settled down in Virginia after meeting his wife, Karen, during high school. Karen asked him out for their first date and wouldn’t let the date end until she got a kiss from him. Their relationship continued to grow and they were married on May 26, 1990, after which they had two children, Andrew (1992) and Lauren (1994). He received his Associate of Science degree from Thomas Nelson Community College in 1988 and later went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University in 2001.  He was an electrical engineer for NASA for 35 years, and worked on many amazing projects during his time there — including conducting thermal vacuum testing on the heat shields for the 2012 Mars rover, “Curiosity”. 

Rick was a man of many words, but was always willing to lend a listening ear to those who needed it. Never known to be a stranger, many were drawn to his charismatic personality. His laugh was contagious, and he was a joy to simply be around.  He was known as a generous soul, always helping and serving those around him, even when it came at great sacrifice. The many who love him considered him to be a genuine, compassionate and loving son, husband, father, brother, “Pop-Pop”, and friend. A meticulous engineer both in career and in play, Rick was always tinkering on something for himself or others with a craft beer, scotch, or rye whiskey in hand, and radio blasting some of his favorite tunes. Rick poured his all into everything he did from building the perfect sand castle, remodeling his home (including computer-aided design drawings), to building a donut wall for his daughter’s wedding – he was always one to go “all in”. An avid lover of cars, he heavily customized his Mazda Miata and was working on restoring an antique 1985 Chevy K10 Silverado. Rick had been a member of numerous churches throughout his life, and was currently an active member of Denbigh Baptist Church. Rick served at those churches in multiple capacities over the years, including Deacon, Audio / Visual team, and AWANAS game leader.

Rick is survived by his wife of almost 33 years, Karen; son, Andrew (Kirsten) Jones; daughter, Lauren (Colton) Deckard; niece, Becca (Todd) Smith, who was like a daughter to him; grandchildren, Adam and Piper Jones, Brooklyn Deckard, and Sophia and Levi Smith; his father, Robert (Deborah) Jones; his sister, Sherri (Andy) Carteret; his fur-babies, Bella and Cinnamon; as well as many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws. 

Rick was preceded in death by his mother, Deloris Houston Jones; his maternal grandparents, Edward Houston and Sarah Letchworth; and his paternal grandparents, Ralph and Estelle Jones.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 2:00 pm at Denbigh Baptist Church.  Family will receive friends after the memorial service is over. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Peninsula Rescue Mission for the purpose of Camp Open Arms in honor of Rick’s passion for serving as a counselor there. https://prm.info/coa/