W Melville Jones

He is survived by his three children and their spouses: Gregory M. Jones (Kathy) of Mill Valley, California, Carrie E. Muehr (Stephen) of Round Lake, Illinois and J. Bradford Jones (Stephanie) of San Francisco, California. He is also survived by five Grandchildren: Parker Jones (spouse, Karla), Natalie Jones, Kian Jones, Lucas Jones and Ryan Jones.

Mr. Jones was born August 25, 1933 to W. Melville Jones Il and Helen Boyd Jones of Williamsburg, Virginia. He grew up in Williamsburg and attended Matthew Whaley High School, and Mount Herman School in Massachusetts where he graduated Cum Laude. Mel was a 1955 graduate of Swarthmore College. He and Miriam met during Swarthmore's freshman orientation and were married in August of 1955. After Swarthmore, he served in the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps. Following military service, Mel obtained an MBA from Harvard's Graduate School of Business Administration.

Upon graduation, he joined Benton and Bowles, an advertising agency in New York where he handled accounts for General Foods and Proctor & Gamble. He then spent several years at Colgate-Palmolive where he developed and marketed new products in the Household Products Division. In 1966, he joined Avon Products in New York where he served as Vice President, Marketing for the next 15 years with responsibilities for the product line, the promotion of the product line and market research. In the later years at Avon, he worked on acquisitions and then served as CEO of two Avon subsidiaries. During Mel's working years in New York City, he resided with his family in Bronxville, NY.

In the early 1980's, Mel left Avon to start a company that produced television commercials for retail companies throughout the United States and Canada. The company was located in Salisbury, CT where Mel and his family resided in a large farmhouse originally built in 1793. He ran the TV commercial company until he retired in 1995 and moved back to Williamsburg and built a house in Ford’s Colony.

Following retirement, Mel was active in Ford’s Colony resident committees, Capital Club (formerly named the Middle Plantation Club), Historic Virginia Land Conservancy, where he served on the original board, Colonial Williamsburg Volunteers, and the Williamsburg United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Golden Horseshoe tennis and golf clubs. He also enjoyed foreign travel.

The family will greet friends at a reception and celebration of life on June 14th at 10:30 am in the Terrace Dining Room at the rear of the Main Dining Room at the Williamsburg Landing.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Williamsburg Symphony, P.O. Box 400, Williamsburg, Virginia, 23187 or to Northfield Mount Hermon School, One Lamplighter Way, Mount Hermon, MA 01354.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.NelsenWilliamsburg.com for the Jones family.