Lawrence Jones

1934 - 2016

Lawrence William Jones

Lawrence William Jones died peacefully in San Francisco on May 17, 2016. He was born to Elizabeth Keller Tullus and Lewis Speed Tullus on September 1,1934 in Steilacoom Washington. He attended Marymount Military Academy where he graduated with honors. Larry had a particular love and gratitude for Sister Mary Manette, for kindly raising him during his years at Marymount.
Larry enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of seventeen and reached the rank of Sergeant. He saw the end of the Korean War and was then sent to serve in Vietnam, training the French troops before the American involvement in the war. He was wounded twice and received two Purple Heart accommodations. These years of service ignited his love for South East Asia and Vietnam, in particular. Larry was a Psi Upsilon at the University of Washington where he met the love of his life, Marilyn Lockwood. The two were married in Seattle on September 21, 1963. Larry worked with the commodity brokerage firm Herrgott and Wilson in San Francisco, of which he later became President. This work took the Jones family around the globe where they had many wondrous and sometimes terrifying experiences. Both his children had the opportunity to work for "Mr. Larry" at different times.
Larry was a man of many interests, and on a typical Saturday he would ride his bike from San Francisco to Stinson, play tennis with Marilyn, swim in the Pacific, sail his Laser and exceeding the speed limit driving one of his beloved Alfa Romeos up to Pt. Reyes for dinner.
Larry was a tenacious pioneer of the Palm oil industry and expanded his brokerage offices to include London, Singapore and Malaysia.
He was contacted in 1990 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to help revive the struggling Vietnamese economy. Larry spent the last 26 years living and working in Vietnam developing their commodities markets. He earned the affectionate nickname Hinh Con Voi, Elephant, for his remarkable memory. Most recently Larry was called 'Professor' as he tirelessly helped train the younger generations to conduct international trading business. He is survived by his wife Marilyn Jones, daughter Cecilia Jones, and son Lawrence Jones, his brothers David Shelton Tullis, William N. Jones and his trusted assistant Miss. Hanh Nguyen Thi.
He was a member of the St. Francis Yacht Club, the Singapore Cricket Club and the Royal Selangar Golf Club Kuala Lumpur.
Larry will be honored with a memorial service at St. Dominic's Church, June 10, 2016 at 10 AM. Contributions in his memory may be made to tributes at http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org.