John L. Jones

Friends and family called him “Captain” since he was a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy. He entered the Navy in 1943, served 12 years as an enlisted man and achieved the rating of Chief Petty Officer in 1951. He became a Commissioned Officer in 1955 and served 30 years in that capacity, retiring in 1986 as a Captain with a total of 42 years service.

Captain Jones was a widower, having lost his wife in 1998. He is survived by his daughter, Barbara Bixby of Laconia, New Hampshire, his son, John L. Jones 2nd of Lovell, Maine, 6 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren and many dear friends.

Captain Jones will be cremated and his ashes will be scattered at sea at the same spot where his wife’s ashes were placed.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 11:00 am in the Chapel at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 4115 Hendricks Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32207.

Memorials in his name may be directed to The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society (nmcrs.org); address; 875 North Randolph Street, Suite 225, Arlington, AV 22203.

Arrangements are by Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home.

Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.hardage-giddenshendricksave.com.

Additional information on the life of John L. Jones.

John L Jones was born on October 29, 1924 to John W and Agnes Jones in

Huntington, LI, NY. He was challenged early in his life when his father died

in an automobile accident in 1932. After this date he was raised by a

variety of his local relatives including cousins and grandparents all who

watched over him to be sure he was well taken care of.

He soon joined the Boy Scouts where he discovered the values of

teamwork, achievement, planning and leadership. He focused his

energies in these pursuits and achieved his Eagle Scout rating in

1939 at the age of 15. He continued to support the Boy Scouts

throughout his life. He told me that he believed that the Boy Scouts

had kept him out of trouble, and maybe out of jail!

In June 1942 he graduated from Northport High School in NY. In March of

1943 he enlisted in the Navy and attended Boot Camp at the Sampson

Training Center in Geneva, NY. Following Boot Camp he married Jean

Lefferts, and started his enlisted Navy career focusing on Aviation radio

and electronics maintenance. These career pursuits required moves to

Texas, Florida, Iowa, NY, Tennessee, Georgia and California.

This enlisted segment of his career spanned the period from 1943 to 1955.

As he fine tuned his abilities and rose in the enlisted ranks, he and his wife

had three children; Diana born in 1944 in Florida, Barbara born in 1947 in

NY, and John Jr born in 1948 born in Georgia.

His enlisted career culminated with a Med cruise aboard the USS Coral Sea

in 1950 and 1951; instructor duty in Tennessee from 1951 to 1954; and

attachment to Attack Squadron 125 (VA-125) in Miramar, California from

1954 to 1955.

In April of 1955 he was selected for Officer Candidate School where he

attended and completed the classes and was commissioned a Naval

Office in Newport, RI in September 1955.

His Officer career spanned and additional 30 years until his retirement in

April of 1986. During this time span he continued to fine tune his

leadership, planning skills and other positive attributes he first learned in

the Boy Scouts and continued to refine during his enlisted career. He

quickly rose from Ensign in 1955 to Lieutenant Commander in 1960.

During this period he was Chief Engineer on the USS Haynsworth (SS-700),

attended additional engineering training schools, was Chief Engineer on

the USS Mullinix (DD-944), and was Commanding Officer of the USS Navajo

(ATA-211). In 1958 he and his wife divorced.

The next period of his career spanned 16 years, from 1960 to 1976, where

his rank rose from Lieutenant Cmmander to Captain. During this period

his assignments included Navy and Army War Colleges, Planning and

Fleet assignments at the Pentagon and in Norfolk, Va; Executive Officer

duties aboard the USS Bauer (DE-1025), and Commanding Officer duties

aboard the USS Observer (MSO-461); the USS Charles F Adams (DDG-2); and the

USS Shenandoah (AD-26). While at the University of Mississippi pursuing

a college degree in 1960 he met Marguerite (Maggie) Lodge. They

married in 1961.

His assignments as Captain from 1976 until his retirement in 1986 included

many high level posts allowing him to bring his significant experience to

bear. During this period he moved from COMMODORE of Destroyer

Squadron Twelve; Commanding Officer of the Naval Surface Force

Readiness Group, US Atlantic Fleet; Commander of US Middle East Force;

Commander of the US Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region 8;

Chief of Staff for the US Southern Command in Panama; and his final

assignment was as Special Asst. to the Deputy Commander for US Naval

Sea Systems.

With many posts in Jacksonville, Florida during his career, and the fact

that he had many friends in the area, he and Maggie decided to retire to

Jacksonville in 1986. He and Maggie continued their love for travel and

did so often in their retirement. Following a long illness, Maggie died in

1998. With Jacksonville remaining his home port, the Captain continued

to travel until his health required him to stay ashore in 2004.

With tremendous pride, he remained always the Captain through his

retirement and stayed close to his family and friends until his death on

August 29, 2012. His ashes will be strewn in the sea he loved at the same

coordinates where his wife Maggie's ashes were strewn.

The Captain leaves his daughter Barbara, his son John Jr, 6 grandchildren

and 4 great- grandchildren, and many close friends.

Compiled by John L Jones Jr