Michael Jones

Born in London, England on August 23, 1932, son of the late Vernon Herbert Jones and the late Violet Olive Penelope Miles Jones (born Watson).

He is survived by his children Ariane (the late Daryl) Wasilow of Cold Lake AB; Alexandra Jones (the late Florian Levesque) of Balmoral NB; Victoria Jones (Paul Whitehead) of Toronto ON; and his grandchildren Jérémy Jones (Gabrielle), Julia Bridger (Liam), and Charlotte Jones-Whitehead (Daniel).

At a very young age, Michael began drawing – an interest that led him to do increasing amounts of sketches of buildings, and eventually taking courses by Welsh artist Kyffin Williams. Then, combining his interests in drawing and buildings, in 1956 Michael completed a university program in Architecture at London’s Architectural Association.

Michael travelled extensively in Europe during summer months and did numerous sketches of architectural and landscape subjects. He enjoyed capturing the three-dimensional forms, as well as the interaction of light with the buildings and their surroundings.

Michael immigrated to the United States in 1957. While working at the same architectural firm in Boston, Michael met and then married his wife, Karen, in 1958. After living in various places, including New Mexico, Seattle, and Jamaica, Michael and Karen immigrated to Canada in 1965, and settled in Toronto to raise their three daughters.

Michael completed a Masters in Architecture at the University of Toronto in 1968, and went on to a long and successful career as an Architect, working for several prominent Canadian Architectural firms, including Arthur Erickson Architects, and Bregman + Hamann. He worked on a wide range of projects, such as airports (Terminal 3 Pearson International Airport in Toronto, as well as both the Xiamen Gaoqi International and the Haikou Meilan International Airports in China), schools (a student centre for the University College of The West Indies, a technical university in Saudi Arabia, as well as both the College of Accountants in Xiamen and the Zhudi Campus of the Shanghai American School in China), a skyscraper (New Shanghai International Tower in China), a subway station, and a concert hall (Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto). Many of these projects won competitions and received awards. His work also took him to other corners of the world, including Malaysia, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates.

This architectural work was a natural extension of Michael’s drawing and painting - drawing on a two-dimensional surface to create a three-dimensional image is one challenge. But architecture can be travelled through, which added a fourth dimension. And so, his work was a pairing of art and architecture; a balance between the interior and exterior, achieved through creative design.

Upon retiring in 2003, Michael and Karen moved to Balmoral, in northern New Brunswick. They bought land adjacent to their daughter Alexandra’s property, and he designed their new house.

Michael was struck with the beauty of the region and its seasons. He began photographing and sketching landscapes and nautical views of the Restigouche and Baie-des-Chaleurs areas. This led to his many paintings of the region, each one capturing a different moment in time, colour, and light. These favourite vantage points were enjoyed daily – usually after he and Karen picked up their coffees at local cafés, such as Croissant Délice in Dalhousie. In 2020, and again more recently in April this year, Michael was delighted to have a selection of his paintings on display at the Circolo Gallery in Campbellton.

His other interests in N.B. included cross-country skiing and working on the property landscape around his house. He also amassed a large collection of classical music CDs, and 1:500 scale Herpa model commercial aircraft. He also thoroughly enjoyed staying in touch with his daughters and grandchildren – sending them postcards as well as elaborate hand-drawn Birthday Certificates.

A private graveside Service will be held at the Campbellton Rural Cemetery on Friday, August 2nd at 2:00 pm.

There will be no visitation at the funeral home.

For those who wish, donations can be made to the Restigouche County SPCA in his memory.

Funeral arrangements are in the care of Savoie’s Funeral Home, Campbellton.

(506) 753-7200 or email: [email protected]