Weldon Allen Jones

Weldon Jones of Columbia, MO passed on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. From humble origins, through hard work and kindness, he built a great life for himself and his family and grew to be a pillar of the Columbia community. He had many friends and enjoyed gardening, fishing, travel, and puttering around. He was very generous and loved to help other people. Weldon could talk your ear off about anything and had an incredible memory; what often seemed to be tall tales and mixed up facts were regularly revealed to be surprisingly true trivia.

Weldon was born June 22, 1931, at the height of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, to Wylie Allen and Bessie Jones in Tulia, Texas. He had two older sisters, Vera Lee and Sharla. They soon moved to Laguna, Arizona, in the North Gila Valley, where they farmed. “We were poor like poor,” he said. “I remember reading The Grapes of Wrath and it felt exactly like home.” He and his friends used to lasso wild horses to break and ride.

At 12, his father died, and soon the family moved back to Texas, where he continued school and farming. After high school, he went to Texas College of Arts and Industries, now part of Texas A&M. One summer, he drove with friends to Alaska where they worked as lumberjacks and distilled their own white lightning liquor, which bears eventually broke into and drank. He advises, “You can do all these exercises or crap, but back in those days, using an axe and a cross cut saw, there’s no better way to get in shape.”

He met his wife, Winnifred Bryson, at a movie theater in Texas in “about 1954, when I got my head out of my ass.” Winnie attended Stephens College in Columbia, and Weldon transferred to Mizzou and finished his degree in Agricultural Engineering. They married in 1956.

He sold insurance in Columbia for nearly 40 years, sometimes door to door in snowstorms driving a VW Beetle. In 1991, he was Shelter Insurance’s Agent of the Year out of 1,500 agents. He became a local figure in Columbia, working hard with many organizations to better the community. He was instrumental in getting 911 emergency phone services established in town as a member of the Columbia Safety Council. He taught defensive driving for over ten years and was a member of the Kiwanis Club. He helped re establish the Sea Scouts in 1976, restoring a 1921 Flyer sailboat. He was a member of the National Guard for over a decade. Weldon was also a member of the Columbia Pachyderm Club and worked for many state and local Republican campaigns.

Weldon spent the last 20 years of his life at Lenoir Retirement Community where he made many friends, helped residents with their homes as he had at least one if not three of every tool. He loved his garden and shared the produce.

Weldon “believed in experiences it makes good dreams and thoughts.” He and Winnie traveled to 22 different countries before her death in June 2005. He is survived by his children Kay (Pierre) and Mike, grandchildren Sam, Robert, Olivia, and great grandchildren, Rian and Tesni.

With immense appreciation, the family acknowledges Denise Harris who made it possible for Weldon to stay in his home as long as possible which is where he wanted to be.