George Hamilton Jones

On April 7, 2023 - Good Friday - George Hamilton Jones set off on his journey to reunite with his wife of 73 years, Sug O'Neil Jones. She had just left him on her own journey less than three months before.

The youngest of four, George was born in the citrus-growing community of Pomona, California, on February 22, 1923. In his more than 100 years, George filled his life with countless adventures, an abundance of cherished friends, a respected professional career, and, above all else, a family that loved him and looked up to him as a steadfast patriarch of immeasurable qualities.

George's family, led by his parents, Victor March Jones and Elizabeth Brettell Jones, had moved to Pomona from Audubon, Iowa, with George's two older sisters, Margaret and Ruth, in 1920. Big brother Tom was born shortly thereafter.

George loved his childhood and held nothing but the fondest of memories of his close-knit, always-supportive family. It was the height of the Depression, but as George used to say, "Everybody was in the same boat." Boyhood friends were plentiful, and fun was to be had in all sorts of inventive ways. George said they lacked for nothing that mattered.

George's lifetime love of sports started at Gary Elementary School and picked up pace at Emerson Junior High. When George entered Pomona High School, he was infamously skinny. Known as "bird legs," George didn't begin to fill out until he matriculated to Stanford University, where he excelled in basketball and track and field as a high jumper. In college, he was able to "jump his height" (6'4") at a time when the world record was 6'10".

George enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943 and was transferred to University of California Berkley in the V-12 Battalion. Tragically, George lost many of those close childhood friends in World War II. Later in life, when George talked about how lucky he was - which he did often - you could tell he meant it. It was hard-earned gratitude.

After the war, George was working for Douglas Aircraft when he was recruited by Bank of America to play basketball on their national AAU team. Little did he know that it would be the launch pad for a highly successful career in real estate appraisal. Known for his ability to handle complex assignments and eminent domain work, George was highly sought after as an expert witness in court. Over his nearly 70-year career, George made significant contributions to the profession he loved and received numerous awards at both local and national levels.

George was an avid sailor from an early age. At 13, he and brother Tom, unbeknownst to their parents, took their maiden voyage to Catalina in a 21-foot sloop they had built in their backyard from a kit that they paid for with money they made on a newspaper route. Powered by sails their mother sewed together, it was the start of a love affair with the sea that the brothers shared for the rest of their lives. Forty-three years later, George, Tom and their families sailed to the South Pacific for a five-month cruise, what George called "the trip of a lifetime."

George and Sug joined the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in 1966 and shared many wonderful adventures with the close friends they made there. From Moonstone Cove on Catalina to Rhode Island, Hawaii and Alaska - and many ports in between - these were fast friendships that George and Sug treasured.

In his long, varied and fortunate life, George's greatest adventure of all was the Love Story he shared with his beloved wife, Sug. From courtship to his passing, George spent 75 of his 100 years in her warm embrace. George was absolutely devoted to Sug. No doubt about it - they were true soulmates.

George and Sug were sadly predeceased by their daughter, Patricia. They leave behind their son, Casey, his wife, Cheryl, nine grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Theirs was indeed the life abundant.

A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Andrew's Church on May 5, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers or contributions, the family wishes simply that those who knew George Jones simply take a moment to reflect on his zest for life, his integrity to the values he cherished, and his love and gratitude for his family and all those who walked the walk with him.