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James Jones Sr. Obituary
Jim grew up in Salt Lake City in a single room home at the tail of the Great Depression. At 8 years old, he proudly stole his first bicycle from an ice cream vendor. The bike had a tub of ice cream bars mounted to it which made Jim a celebrity among his friends for the day. As Jim grew older he learned to sing and play the guitar. Jim's musical talent and the bands he put together with friends created many fond memories.
On February 16, 1957, Jim married Judith Ann Christensen. They had 7 children together and managed a happy union for 64 years until her passing in 2021. Jim and Judy delighted in the outdoors, keeping their family busy on weekends and holidays. They camped and hunted the mountains, fished at Flaming Gorge and boated at Lake Powell. Jim and Judy were enthusiastic sports fans, holding season tickets for years to the Utah Jazz, Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals. They never missed a chance to play golf, either around home or on vacation. Jim and Judy raised award winning, purebred American Eskimo dogs and were sought-after show judges in the kennel clubs. In their later years they spent as much time aboard cruise ships as they did at home.
Jim was a career master electrician, founding J&J Electric in Salt Lake City in the early 1960's. After several successful decades in business, he and Judy moved to Phoenix where they continued electrical contracting for another 15 years. Jim worked in the office and in the field, often working job sites and wearing a tool belt until well into his eighties. Jim was always recruiting the help of his kids, his kids' spouses, his grandkids and their friends, for full time work, or just the occasional Saturday to help along his business and for the kids to learn the trade. There are at least four other electrical or general contractors in business today as a result of former employees spinning off from J&J.
Jim's generosity was unparalleled. He gave the world much more than he ever received. If he wasn't buying lunches and golf for the work crew, he was handing out king sized Snicker bars for the trick or treaters. He and Judy gave away as many of their season tickets to sporting events as they used. Jim once went to collect a several month overdue rent at Christmas time from a tenant of his who was a single mother. He didn't get the rent; he instead gave her $200 for presents. The tenant then stole the refrigerator when she moved.
Just as it would be impossible to have known Jim and NOT know how to wire switches and hang lighting fixtures, it would be impossible to have not been touched by his generosity, charmed by his personality or made to belly laugh at his endless commentary. And, as the staff of Cascades at Riverwalk Nursing Home can tell you, if Jim wasn't wise-cracking, he was asleep. He loved his family deeply and never encountered a new baby he didn't want to hold.
Jim is survived by his 7 kids; James Jones Jr. (Nong), Teleca Jones, Joey Daybell (Gary), Terry Clement (Dan), Richard Jones (Shelly), Rhonda Rigby (Steve), Hodie Match (Roger), his sister - Carol Deimer, 22 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren and his little Yorkie Terrier - Shilo.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday May 24th from 4-8 at the Fairfield Inn and Suites
7141 FLSmidth Drive
Midvale, UT 84047
Please wear your favorite team's attire as Jim was an avid sports fan
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
2 Entries
Dino Sanchez
May 8, 2025
In loving memory of a wonderful person.
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Roger Match
April 19, 2025
Jim was my father-in-law. For a long time he´s been the gold standard of generous and funny that I use to compare other people.
I worked a lot with him doing electrical on the side. One job was wiring condos in Cedar City for a week. Jim, Steve and I shared a hotel room. At some point in the middle of one night Jim sat straight up in bed, flipped the light on and yelled, "What the F*** was that!!??" He said it sounded like someone let a hog loose at a food trough. It turned out to be my snoring. Every lunch for the rest of that trip, and at random meals for the rest of his life, he´d jiggle his face make snorting sounds, and he made sure everyone at the table knew the story.
Early in my marriage and struggling a little financially, I worked with Jim doing some remodel work on a customer´s home. He negotiated the cost of some last minute changes and had the customer write him a check for the changes that day, leaving the payable line blank. On the drive home, Jim looked at the check, looked at me, and tossed the check over (probably $150) saying he would never remember to deposit it. He told me to take it and put my own name on it. I think it was his plan from the start.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent around Jim; socializing, vacationing and working (although work never really felt like work). I´ll surely miss him.
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