John Lloyd Jones, age 78, of Columbia, Mo., passed away Nov. 20, 2019, surrounded by his wife, Joyce (Cross) Jones, daughter Jennifer, son in law, Brian, granddaughters Megan and Sydney, grandson, Jarett, and longtime friends, Carol and Bob Ritter.
John was born to Anna (LaPlant) and Raymond Jones on Aug. 9, 1941 in East Prairie, Mo. and grew up in St. Louis, where he graduated from Roosevelt High School in January, 1959.
After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1964, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting, John enlisted in the Air Force. After basic training at Lackland AFB in Texas, he was stationed at Dover AFB in Delaware and then Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas. While stationed in Abilene, John went to Officer Training School at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas where he was awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant.
John and Joyce were married on May 13, 1967 and Joyce went with her new husband back to Abilene,Texas. As a second lieutenant, in August 1968, John was deployed to Ching Chuan Kang AFB in Taiwan during the Vietnam War. After he was honorably discharged, John went into the Air Force Reserves, serving at Richards-Gebaur AFB in Kansas City, MO and Scott AFB in Belleville, Illinois. In 1991, John served in Desert Storm, where he was stationed at Al Jubail AFB in Saudi Arabia. He retired from the military in December 1993, as a Lieutenant Colonel, after honorably serving in the military for 29 years.
John was an avid reader and enjoyed fishing, traveling, playing cards, and spending time with family and friends. He was a longtime member of the Masons and just obtained the 33° of the Scottish Rite. He was also a member of the Military (Officers Association). He was a lifelong fan of the Missouri Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
John leaves behind his wife, Joyce, of 52 years, daughter Jennifer (Brian) Lamons of Holts Summit; son John Jones II of Denver, CO; granddaughters Megan Klempke of Jefferson City, Sydney (Daniel) Pratt of New Bloomfield, and Kaitlin Jones of Denver; grandson Jarett Lamons of Holts Summit; and great grandsons Kaden and Levi Klempke; mother-in-law, Pauline McNeil of Columbia, MO; sister-in-law Brenda Herron (Charles) of Onley, Virginia, brother-in-law Greg McNeil (Kay) of Columbia, brother-in-law Allen McNeil (Sharon) of Whitehouse Station, NJ, plus several nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition, he leaves behind his longtime dear friends Bob and Carol Ritter of Columbia, who were also great fishing and travel companions, as well as offering John and Joyce a great place for friendship, fun, and great dinners.
Graveside services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Jacksonville, Missouri with full military honors. Interment to follow.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Scottish Rite of Columbia, or the Central Missouri Honor Flight.
