Donald Jones

Our loving father Donald Esplin Jones passed away on March 5, 2019 in Layton, Utah. He was born July 16, 1931 at the Iron County Hospital in Cedar City, Utah to Henry Marvin and Lucy Esplin, the last of their four children. He was raised on 200 West (Hospital Street) in Cedar City in a home that remained within the extended family for generations.  He started working in the family business, Jones Motor Company, where his lifelong love of the automobile started. He attended Cedar High School and played as a center on their basketball team. The Cedar High fight songs were a frequent staple throughout his life.

After graduation, he attended the “good old BAC” (the forerunner to Southern Utah University) for two years before moving to Salt Lake City where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Utah.  Don served in the Army Counterintelligence Unit in Japan during the Korean War.  He frequently quipped that he was sent there to stamp out any intelligence they found in the Army.  He returned home to marry his sweetheart who he had met at the BAC, Nelda LaVoe Clark on July 1, 1955 (a marriage later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple). They settled in Cedar City and both worked at Jones Motor.  He loved to recount stories of driving to cities and towns in Nevada charged with selling the vehicle he drove.  Nelda would often be dispatched to pick him up.  In 1959 they welcomed a daughter, Shauna, again at the Iron County Hospital.

Opportunity intervened and his young family moved to Southern California in 1961 where Don worked in accounting at Hessell Chevrolet. He took his next opportunity at North American Aviation where he was a programmer in the punch card era of the early computer age.  During this time, Don also attended business school after work eventually earning his MBA in finance and accounting from UCLA. In 1964, they were blessed with a son, Kyle, while living in Torrance California. Don’s career took the family to Chicago, Denver and finally Ogden, Utah as he worked his way up the corporate ladder. His intellect, work ethic, dedication and strong moral compass guided his progress.  He ended his career at Browning Arms as a Vice President and Chief Financial Officer—a job he loved.

Throughout his working life Don was a fiercely committed husband and father spending most of his time outside work with family.  Vacations were a major event—some carefully planned, others with little forethought, and some a pleasant mixture of both.  He coined the term “Gorilla Tourism” to refer to the often non-stop pursuit of ticking off as many sites as possible in a single day.  He continued to travel for most of his life and saw much of this beautiful world. Until age slowed him down, Don also enjoyed backpacking, skiing, and golfing.  He loved to read, watched Jeopardy most nights, and was a huge sports fan with a particular love for the Utah Jazz and Brigham Young University. Don was a big supporter and proponent of Southern Utah University.

He is preceded in death by his wife Nelda and his three siblings Austin Jones, Afton Bateman, and Willard Jones. He is survived by his daughter Shauna (Rick) Bellamy and son Kyle (Sydney) Jones and 4 grandsons Matthew, Nathan and Mark Jones and Miles Bellamy, along with his sisters-in-law Trudy Jones and Marilyn Clark.

Funeral services will be held at Cedar City 17th Ward (256 South 900 West) on March 16 at 11:00 a.m.   Friends may call prior to the services starting at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be at the Cedar City Cemetery, under the direction of Southern Utah Mortuary, with a luncheon to follow at the SUU Alumni House.