Russell Scarritt Jones

Russell Scarritt Jones was born in Kansas City on October 2, 1929, to Nancy (Lawson) and Paul M Jones. He was a great-grandson of the Rev. Nathan Scarritt, a pioneer who came to the Kansas City area in 1848. Russ died on Good Friday, March 29, 2024, at the age of 94.

Russ graduated from Border Star Elementary, Southwest High School, William Jewel College, and the University of Missouri-Columbia (1952), where he obtained a business degree and was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity. A year later, he married Joy Warner Laws, who was the love of his life for 67 years until her death in 2020. He enlisted and served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, mostly on a destroyer in the Pacific Ocean.

When his tour was completed, he rejoined Joy and their son, Russ Jr. (Rusty) in Kansas City, and began a career as a commercial mortgage banker with Herbert V. Jones & Company. He was one of the four general partners who developed the Corporate Woods office park.

The family grew with the additions of Doug and Grace, which triggered moves from their starter home in Prairie Village to one on 58th Street in Kansas City and later homes in Mission Hills, Corinth Downs, and eventually The Forum senior living center. He and Joy loved playing bridge and spending time with life-long friends.

After Jones & Co. split up in the mid-1980s, Russ retired and used his life-long interest in travel to become a travel consultant, planning trips to Europe for friends and a few other clients. “Where to go, what to see, where to stay” was his expertise.

Russ was a family man. He was home for dinner precisely at 6:00 pm every night except Thursdays when his bowling team was competing. He spent many Sunday afternoons watching football or golf with his father, and every Christmas included gathering for presents and dinner at Nancy and Paul’s house. He loved traveling, taking the family to Minnesota, then to Santa Fe with other Kansas City families, then on two-week driving vacations each August to national parks, historical sites, and a few fun places. Russ belonged to the University Club, the River Club, and was long-time member of The Kansas City Country Club, where he developed and honed a life-long love of golf, being a single-digit handicap player well into his sixties.

Russ was quietly a man of faith, a member of Central United Methodist Church and later the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.

Russ was preceded in death by his wife Joy, his parents, Nancy and Paul Jones, and his brother, Lawson Elliott Jones. He is survived by his son Russell S. Jones, Jr. and wife Susan, son Douglas E. Jones and wife Jennifer, and daughter Grace J. Nowlin and husband Brad, and by nine grandchildren: Hillary and husband Anthony Castiglia, Lindsey Jones and husband Daniel Jacobs, Libby Jones and husband Ross Merrill, Andrew and wife Karah Jones, Beth and husband Bo Ellison, Charlie and wife Katie Cox, Travis Nowlin, Tyler Nowlin and husband Keith Keesee, and Dr. Will Jones. He was very proud of his three great-grandchildren, Graham Castiglia, Andrew Ellison, and Evangeline Jacobs. Russ is also survived by his sister Nancy (Pud) Reed and her children Kate Finberg (husband Max, Eliana and Matthias) of Takoma Park, Maryland, and Houck Reed (Zander, McKinley, Samantha and Hadley) of Raleigh, North Carolina, his close friends Wilson and Nancy Laws Siemens and their families, and by his NBF (new best friend) Rosemary Anderson, who gave him great help and companionship in his final years. The family is grateful for his friends and the caring community at The Forum in Overland Park, where Russ and Joy lived since 2014.

A celebration of Russ’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 19, 2024, at Resurrection-Brookside, 5144 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64112.

The family requests no flowers, but friends may make contributions to the Boys and Girls Club, Church of the Resurrection, or a charity of your choice.