Palestine High School Alumni Association

12 / 28 / 1928  –  03 / 31 / 2001

William Joseph “Jody” Jones, Stillwater, died Saturday, March 31, 2001, in his home. He was 72.

Services will be held at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Friday at 3 p.m.

Jones was a retired Air Force fighter pilot with more that 7,000 hours flying time. His medals include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Air Force Reserve Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Vietnam Service Medal with one Battle Star and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

He flew 100 missions in the F-105 over North Vietnam in 1967.

He was born December 28, 1928, in Athens, Texas, and grew up in Palestine, Texas.

He attended Schreiner Institute in Kerrville, Texas, and graduated from Palestine High School. He played football at Henderson County Junior College and attended the University of Texas at Austin.

He entered the Air Force in 1951 and served in the Security Service in Washington, D.C., before beginning aviation cadet training at Bartow, Fla., in 1952. He graduated from Cadets in Class 53-B at Foster Air Force Base, Texas, and married Marjory Maffitt March 21, 1953, at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Palestine, Texas.

He held B.S. and M.S. degrees from Oklahoma State University and taught history in the Stillwater Public Schools.

He was a life member of Clan Moffat Society and a member of Clan Donald USA. Attending Scottish Games was a source of pleasure after retirement from teaching. He loved to fish, grow vegetables and work with wood.

He is survived by his wife Marjory, of the home; daughter Cynthia Kiser and her husband Tommy and their children, Thomas and Melanie, all of Stillwater; and by son William Patrick Jones and his wife Susan and their children, Joseph, Martin and Austin, all of Michigan.

Friends may contribute to Judith Karman Hospice, 915 S. Main, Stillwater; Stillwater Medical Center, 1323 W. Sixth; or St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 516 W. Third, Stillwater.

Source: Stillwater News 04-01-2001