Ted Jones

1936 - 2021

Jones, Ted

FORT ATKINSON - Ted Jones, retired chairman of Fort Atkinson-based Jones Dairy Farm, died at home on Monday, July 26, 2021. He was 85. Ted's life was defined by a strong sense of stewardship to his business, community, land and family. In a career which spanned more than four decades with the family-held maker of breakfast sausage and smoked meats, Ted focused his talents on plant operations, striving to exceed world class food production standards. His innovations resulted in three patents. He was president of RAPA Scrapple, the company's Delaware subsidiary, before becoming CEO of the parent corporation in 1995. He planned and oversaw several plant expansions; he was especially proud of the installation of an in-house A2LA accredited laboratory to ensure the highest level of food safety. Ted's management style was inclusive. In a cover story from the July 2000 issue of National Provisioner, he noted: "I'm a great believer in allowing people to run their own departments. My job is to pull them together... It doesn't matter if I get credit because the goal is to get the best answer."

In Fort Atkinson, Ted served as Co-Director of the Fort Atkinson Development Corporation. He also served on the United Fund, was a Director of the Chamber of Commerce, a trustee of Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital, and was member of the Fort Atkinson Airport Committee. He also served on the board of directors of the American Meat Institute. An early adopter of new technology, Ted was an initial investor in the Fort Atkinson Cable Company.

Ted loved motors. He was a member of the Madison Sports Car Club. He thrilled his kids, their cousins and friends with go karts, motorboats, snowmobiles, trainsets, model airplanes and other contraptions. He was an aviator, logging hundreds of hours flying to and from Delaware, and thousands more on a flight simulator which he routinely upgraded to ensure it was always state of the art. He was a natural athlete who entertained with his soccer ball footwork and the grace with which he vaulted over split rail fences. In 1947, at age 14, Ted was a founding member of the North Hill Ski Club outside Fort Atkinson; he continued skiing until age 70 when Inclusion Body Myositis began to compromise his strength.

Ted loved quiet even more. In 1972, he bought a 26-acre property in Waushara County from retired UW Madison Professor Henry Bertram Hill and for most of the next five decades that sandy ground was his retreat and sanctuary. He became intimate friends with the native flora and fauna; he learned their names and fostered their habitats. The cottage he built allowed him to exercise his skills as an engineer, architect, carpenter, electrician, plumber, fisherman, woodsman, astronomer and occasional innkeeper. It served as the unofficial headquarters of the Mount Morris Grousing and Bitching Society and hosted an annual gathering for Trout Opener, the first weekend in May. It was the place he was most at ease; sharing it with his friends and family brought him great joy.

A lifelong resident of Fort Atkinson, Edward Cole Jones, Jr. was born at home on January 4, 1936, the son of Edward and Helen Schlosser Jones and the youngest of their three children. He attended Hoard Elementary School and Emery Junior High before going to high school at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, graduating in 1954. During his years at Lake Forest, he was co-editor of the yearbook, captain of the soccer team and set records in pole vaulting and broad jump on the track team. He attended Colgate University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

In 1958, Ted married Margot Noyes and had two sons and a daughter. That marriage ended in divorce. On April 2, 1966, he married Patricia Ann Streeter. They added two daughters to the family and lived happily ever after.

He was preceded in death by his parents Edward C. Jones, Sr. and Helen S. Jones, sisters Deborah Jones Donaldson and Frances Jones Highsmith, cousins Alan P. Jones, Jr. and William B. Jones and niece Caroline W. Donaldson.

Ted is survived by his wife, Patricia and children, Edward Cole Jones III (Carmen Garces), Philip Hamilton Jones (Denice), Charlotte Wells Blome (Erik), Martha Parker Pollay (Peter), and Elizabeth Crane Jones; his grandchildren, William H. Jones (Ashley), Maxwell and Noah Blome, Fedora and Parker Pollay, Eliot and Alexander Stahl; his step grandchildren, Jason Kingman (Emma), Lisa Caras (Jordan) and their children Rhett and Elle Klingman, Theodore and Colette Caras. He is also survived by his cousin, Milo C. Jones (Joan), as well as many nieces and nephews.

The family is planning a memorial visitation at the JONES DAIRY FARM FARMHOUSE, 432 Jones Avenue, Fort Atkinson on Thursday, August 19, 2021, beginning at 9 a.m. with a time of remembrance beginning at 10:30 a.m. Road work on Jones Avenue will necessitate visitors enter from 7th Street opposite Jones Park.

Due to the ongoing pandemic and increasing concerns about the Delta variant, masks and social distancing will be required; visits inside the Farmhouse will respectfully be limited to family and friends.

Memorials may be made to the Aldo Leopold Foundation E13701 Levee Road, Baraboo, Wis. 53913; Rainbow Hospice 147 W Rockwell Jefferson, WI 53549; Fort Atkinson Community Foundation 244 North Main Fort Atkinson, Wis. 53538 and St Peters Episcopal Church 302 Merchants Avenue Fort Atkinson, Wis. 53538.

Dunlap Memorial Home in Fort Atkinson is assisting the family.

www.DunlapMemorialHome.com