Jerold Webster Jones

Jerold Webster Jones, 79, passed away peacefully on August 1, 2016. The first child of J. Webster Jones and Dorothy Lambert Jones, Jerry was born on July 6, 1937 in Salt Lake City. He attended Uintah Elementary, Roosevelt Junior High and East High School. After graduation, he attended The University of Utah briefly before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to the Northwestern States. Home from his mission, he returned to his studies and was thrilled when his grandfather arranged a blind date for him with a fellow student, Nancy Sanders. Nancy and Jerry were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 23, 1961, recently celebrating 55 years of marriage.

Jerry graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1962 and accepted his first job at NASA’s Ames Research Lab in Mountain View, California. Jerry valued education. While working and raising his young family, he earned an MS degree at Stanford University in 1966. He then returned to The University of Utah to earn a PhD in 1969 and completed his training with a postdoctoral fellowship at The Ohio State University. Following his passion for teaching, he accepted a position at The University of Texas at Austin in 1973, where he became a tenured professor and taught for 30 years. At his retirement, he was distinguished as Professor Emeritus. He also extended his enthusiasm to the public schools where he initiated after school engineering clubs and developed a program to help teachers implement science and engineering in their classrooms.

Jerry was devoted to his children’s educations. Science projects, English essays, algebra or geometry—our homework was never too much for him. If he couldn’t remember it, he would borrow the textbook and learn it again. Jerry was proud that all of his children earned graduate degrees in various fields. He also taught us to love our Savior Jesus Christ and is even more proud that all of his children remain faithful to the gospel he loved. Throughout his life, he served diligently in the LDS church, as bishop, high counselor, gospel doctrine teacher and nursery leader. Nursery leader was his favorite.

Retirement brought Jerry and Nancy back to Utah, settling near family in Midway. Not ones to sit idle, they left on an LDS mission in 2004, serving in the New Zealand Auckland mission. After their mission, Jerry volunteered at the MTC in Provo and for the Midway City Planning Department. He was the project manager for the renovation of Midway’s Town Hall, a project which received a Heritage Award from the Utah Heritage Foundation in 2012.

Jerry loved his family. His final advice was: Pay attention to your family; provide for your family; enjoy your family. This is something he lived. Raising children over five decades, with a 22 year spread between the oldest and the youngest, Jerry appreciated his children and was delighted to have them at home throughout so many years. He is survived by his wife Nancy, his children Nathan (Sue Ann) Jones, Matthew (Marcie) Jones, Andrea (Mark) Austin, Spencer (Andrea) Jones and Meredith (James) Hendricks, his brother Greg (Monti) Jones and 17 grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Thursday, August 4 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Midway LDS Stake Center, 165 N Center Street, Midway, UT. Services will be held at the same location on Friday, August 5 at 11:00 a.m. A viewing will be held prior to the service from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Internment will take place at the Midway Cemetery following services.