Claris Eugene Jones Jr.

Founding Director of the Fullerton Arboretum, Claris Eugene Jones, Jr., PH.D was born December 15, 1942 in Columbus, Ohio and died November 28, 2020.  He’s survived by his wife Teresa, his two sons Doug and Phil, and his daughter Beth and four grandchildren Tyler, Ashley, Spencer, and Gabby.  Claris (Gene) attended Ohio University as a scholarship football player and received his B.S. (1964) and continued his education and received his PH.D from Indiana University (1969).  He was a Botany Professor (1969-2010) at California State University of Fullerton where he served as Department Chair (1989-2004).  He was also a dedicated teacher who mentored every biology major during his tenure as department chair.

He was the founding director of the Fullerton Arboretum.  His incredible energy, determination and devotion to the project from 1970 – 1980 made the Arboretum possible.  He worked on the establishment, funding, and construction of the Arboretum, and founded the Friends of the Arboretum along with his wife.  He served as either Chair or Vice Chair of the Arboretum Commission from 2005 until 2015.

Gene was a member of the Botanical Society of America, The American Association for the Advancement of Science along with 20+ other scholarly organizations.  He published over 100 professional articles and wrote the book “A Dictionary of Botany” and was editor of “Handbook of Experimental Pollination Biology.”  He was recognized as a Distinguished Faculty Member by the School of Natural Science and Mathematics at CSUF along with numerous faculty awards.  He was also featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Website by the “Who’s Who” community.

As a member of the Maui Kaanapali Villa’s Board of Directors (2008-2020), he served as Landscape Committee Chair for 11 years helping to improve the grounds.  His hobbies included coaching youth soccer, genealogy, bee keeping, clock & coin collecting, ping pong, shuffleboard, and watching Angels Baseball.  He was loved and will be missed by family and friends.