Vernon Thomas Jones, Sr's Obituary
Vernon Thomas Jones, Sr. passed away Friday, February 19, 2016 at his treasured home which he shared with his beloved wife of 60 years, Maralee Atkinson Jones. Maralee preceded Vernon as did his son, Jeffrey Thane Jones, grandson, Vernon (Trey) Jones III, brother Robert, and his parents Hugh T. and Ruth A. Mitchell Jones of Lee’s Summit, MO. He is survived by his brother, Richard, son Vernon T., Jr. and his children Carrie Throckmorton (Jason), Nathaniel and Harrison, and son, Michael T. (Cindy) and his children, Ian, Aubree and Morgan, and children of son Jeffrey; Chelsea, Adam (Rachel) and Joseph Swenning, great grandchildren and many others of his extended loving family. Vernon was born July 3, 1929 in the house on the family farm that was established by his grandfather near Lee’s Summit. He attended a two room school until going to Lee’s Summit High School. In 1953, he was drafted out of teacher’s college into the US Army where he was selected to the Counter Intelligence Corps, serving in Japan and Korea. As he finished training at Fort Dix, MD, he met and soon married Maralee on April 3, 1954. He was serving overseas when their first son was born. Upon his discharge, he attended Missouri School of Mines at Rolla (now MU of Science & Technology), graduating with a B.S. Civil Engineering. In 1987, he was awarded an honorary Master’s Degree by the school and then recognized in its first induction of Most Influential Alumni in 2011. His first career job was oil tank farm Superintendent for Cities Service Oil Co. at Sour Lake, TX during which time two more sons were born. Promotions came quickly and steadily and the family moved over a dozen times until settling in Tulsa for good in 1969. At that time he was Vice President of all transportation assets of Cities Service when he was asked to head a joint venture with other major oil companies. As the first president of Explorer Pipeline Co., he took the job of building a major system between Chicago and Freeport, TX and which made his mark in the industry for managing to success. He joined Williams Cos., a Fortune 200 company, in 1976 as president of their pipeline division then moving to President of the corporation in 1982. The next year he led the major acquisition of Northwest Energy Corp with him and Maralee moving to Salt Lake City to integrate the operations and bridge the company cultures. They took active roles in the arts and supported civic causes in SLC just as they were doing in Tulsa with the Boy Scouts, Goodwill, philharmonic and others. Vernon later championed the innovators at Williams to build a fiber optic network along its pipelines, initiating an entirely new business for the Co. of transporting information. He provided leadership beyond Williams to the broader industry too, famously testifying before regulators and legislators on transformative issues of rates and deregulation policies of oil, products and natural gas pipelines as chairman of major trade organizations throughout the 70s & 80s. These systems remain a major part of the infrastructure underlying our nation’s economy today. Vernon lived a model retirement starting in 1992, progressively reducing his time toward business interests to other passions. He was regularly consulted by his industry friends for most of his remaining years. Travel with Maralee, time with a growing number of grandchildren, their many friends, philanthropic causes and hobby interests became his priorities. Before and during his retirement, he served on the Boards of the Boy Scouts, Goodwill Industries, Engineers Without Borders, Tulsa Philharmonic, and others, usually including a stint as Chairman. He was a Free Mason with Lodge 263 of Independence, MO for over 50 years. Enhancing his home and gardens, woodworking, vintage sports cars, fishing and hunting and golfing trips with friends and family, and pursuing his lifelong commitment to learning were his pleasures. Vernon took great joy in supporting and following his grandchildren to their higher education goals and interests in dance, scouting (4 Eagle Scouts), figure skating, marine wildlife and all their various sports activities. His devotion to Maralee in loving, providing and caring for her throughout their life together inspired all who knew him. Vernon Jones was of that increasingly rare breed of self-made men but who never hesitated to acknowledge the supporters and influencers of his life. There will be a private interment service at 11:30am, Saturday, February 27th on the grounds of Floral Haven Cemetery in Broken Arrow, OK. The memorial service followed by a reception will begin at noon in the Floral Haven Family Center at the cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Boy Scouts Indian Nations Council or charity of your choice in his name.
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