Richard Albert Jones

Richard Albert Jones, 82, passed away on August 24, 2017. He was born in New York City, NY on April 1, 1935, son of Albert and Etta (Arndt) Jones. His dad was a watchmaker and businessman. Rich's family moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he grew up. There he attended and graduated from Cathedral Boys High School.

In 1961, Rich graduated from Bradley University (Illinois) earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He moved with his young family to St. Louis, Missouri. He became employed at McDonnell Aircraft Company, and realized his dream of becoming involved in the USA's space program. He worked on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, helping to put a man on the moon. Later in his career he worked on missile and aircraft programs, including the Spanish F-18, and spent several years living and working in Madrid, Spain, in the mid-1980s. He retired from then McDonnell-Douglas Corporation in 1994, and moved to Clearwater, Florida.

In July 2016, Rich was honored for his lifelong contribution to the aviation and space program. His name is inscribed on the National Air and Space Museum’s Wall of Honor in Washington DC in recognition of his dedication to Air & Space exploration.

Rich's lifelong love affair with space was also exemplified in his hobby as an amateur astronomer. Through a series of ever more powerful telescopes (many of which he built himself), he gazed at the stars and moon, teaching his children about the night sky. His career as a solar eclipse chaser began in 1972, when he drove his family 1,500 miles to Cap-Chat, Quebec, Canada, to see a total solar eclipse, only to be disappointed when clouds obscured totality. In

1973 he traveled to Dakar, Senegal, Africa, where he saw his first total solar eclipse. After, he viewed solar eclipses all over the world, traveling to interesting and exotic places from South Africa to the South Pacific.

When not busy chasing eclipses, Rich was also a member of the Largo Elks Lodge

#2159. He served in many positions, and in 2007 was honored as the Elk of the Year. Rich loved people, beer, trivia, and of course, Aurora. He was known for his fine singing voice, quick sense of humor, and amazing capacity to remember facts and details. He was admired for his intelligence, generosity, and humbleness. He was a dear friend to us all; he was our “Rocket Man”.

He is survived by his loving wife, Aurora; his brother, John Jones of Madeira Beach; his four children: Kevin Jones, Kim Jones and husband Larry Marsh, Keith Jones and wife Erin, all of Missouri, and Kelly Marunczak and husband Jeff of Gulf Breeze; and five granddaughters: Noelle Jones, Ariel Phythian, Megan Jones, Eleanor Marsh and Josephine Marunczak.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 30th at Serenity Funeral Home, 13401 Indian Rocks Road, at 1 pm, with services to follow at 2 pm. Afterwards family and friends are invited to the Largo Elks Lodge. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Largo Elks charity.