Constance J. Jones

Constance Jones, Cmdr. USN Ret. known to all as "Connie," passed away peacefully on October 14 at the age of 88. She was universally loved by her family and many friends for her smile, wit and infectious laugh. She was also admired for her teaching career in mathematics and chemistry, her work as a pharmaceutical chemist, and her pioneering work in the development of radar systems at the Boston Navy Yard Radar Laboratories during WWII. Born January 24, 1922 in Jefferson City, Missouri to Thomas Griffith Jones and Miriam Jauchler Jones, she loved to tell the story that, at that time, her father was at the prisonas an auditor. She also proudly declared that she had the advantage of having a father from San Antonio, and a mother from New Orleans. The family moved back to San Antonio, and she graduated from Jefferson High School, where she joined "The Lassos," the school's western-style drill team. She traveled with her sister Lassos to New York in 1939 to perform at the World's Fair. She distinguished herself early on at what was then Incarnate Word College for her excellence in studying mathematics and chemistry, encouraged by the woman she called her "great friend and mentor," Sister Michael Edward O'Byrne. In a letter to Dick McCracken at the University of the Incarnate Word, she wrote: "In my day the science facilities were not, as we might say today, 'on the cutting edge of technology,' but the dedication and inspiration of Sister Michael Edwards and her peers certainly were. And it was infectious." After graduating with her BS in 1943, Connie entered a special training program for Navy radar researchers, studying for five months at Harvard and four months at MIT, and received her commission as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade. She worked through the end of the war developing radar systems that were applied along the east coast to detect enemy submarines, and for radar guided missile systems for the possible invasion of Japan. Returning to San Antonio, she taught chemistry to nurses at Santa Rosa Hospital as a faculty member of Incarnate Word College. She then moved to Austin, where she earned her master's degree in mathematics at the University of Texas. Returning to San Antonio, she became the first woman hired as an industrial chemist in San Antonio at the former Texas Pharmacal Company. She was known to say that, when she left that job, her employers had to hire two men, each at her same rate of pay, to accomplish the work she did by herself! In 1963, she and her mother took a four-month trip to Europe together, which whetted an appetite for world travel Connie later developed to the full, together with her husband, Bob Cruise. Later in 1963, she and her mother moved to Austin, where she taught mathematics to undergraduates at the University of Texas. Returning to San Antonio in 1966, she joined the faculty of Trinity University in the Mathematics Department. She continued her teaching career for the duration of her working life as a teacher of mathematics at Churchill High School. She was also active during her 30-year professional life as a member of the US Navy Reserve. After retirement, Connie began her second career as a world traveler, initially as a member of the Witte Museum's Camel Corps, and later with Bob Cruise as her constant companion. Over the course of over twenty years, they visited all seven continents, visiting not only great cities but also remote sites such as Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, Victoria Falls, and Iguassu Falls. At 79 years of age, she jumped from a Zodiac into the surf to set foot on Antarctica for the first time. Of all their trips, Bob Cruise remembers most fondly a trip to Bali in which he had climbed a great height to catch a view of the sun setting over an isolated beach, overlooking a Hindu temple. He was delighted to hear Connie suddenly behind him saying "Isn't that beautiful?" as she made the last of over 600 steps to the top and shared the vista with him. A huge world map filled with hundreds of pins and scores of photos featuring Connie in famous locales graphically details their travels. Her only regret was that she did not visit Persepolis! Connie was also a great lover of San Antonio history, and of the arts. She served on the boards of the San Antonio Conservation Society, the San Pedro Playhouse, and the San Antonio International Piano Competition, and was a member of both the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and St. Monica's Guild. She was proud to serve on the Development Board of the University of the Incarnate Word, and was a donor for many years to the San Antonio Symphony, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Witte Museum, the McNay Art Museum, St. Mary's University, Musical Bridges around the World, the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Camarata San Antonio, and the Southwest School of Art. In recent years, when her health did not permit world travel, Connie enjoyed daily local trips to lunches with Bob at their favorite restaurants. If there was one place in the world that Connie regarded as her spiritual home, it was certainly the University of the Incarnate Word. As she put it "I know that the qualities I gained in my education at Incarnate Word carried on with me during my life's work and I hope that I was able to pass this Incarnate Word legacy on to my students when I started teaching. We no longer have the large number of Sisters to meet the needs of the next century. As alumnae and alumni we are now called on to follow their example." She is survived by her husband, Robert C. Cruise, and by her younger cousins Mary Anita Cunning, Hugh Cunning and their daughter Emilie; as well as by Edward Conroy Jr. and his daughters Brigid Conroy and Amy Safrankova. She is also

survived by her cousins in the extended Kelly, Davis, Rice and Tynan families of both Houston and San Antonio. Visitation will be on Monday, October 18, 2010 from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Porter Loring on McCullough.

ROSARY

MONDAY

OCTOBER 18, 2010

7:00 P.M.

PORTER LORING CHAPEL

CELEBRANT OF LIFE MASS

TUESDAY

OCTOBER 19, 2010

10:00 A.M.

CHAPEL OF THE INCARNATE WORD

4503 BROADWAY

Celebrant will be Father Bill Davis, OMI, who performed their marriage ceremony in 2000. Gifts in honor of Connie Jones may be made to the University of the Incarnate Word, but gifts of flowers are welcome as well.