Mr. Gilbert Ronald Jones, 80, passed away Monday, August 10, 2020, at the Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He was born in Durham, North Carolina, to the late Ector Dewitt and Mable Woods Jones. Also preceding him in death was his brother, Donald Jones.
Mr. Jones, an internationally recognized Aeronautical Engineer, worked for the Boeing Company in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the Apollo Program contributing to the successful launch and missions of the Saturn V rocket and Apollo 11, which sent man to the moon. At the conclusion of the Apollo Program, he worked for Arnold Engineering and Development Center (AEDC) where he enjoyed a 28-year career leading programs and initiatives such as the ballistic missile team and was a contributor to Reagan’s Star Wars Strategic Defense Initiative. In addition, he trained future research and development aerospace engineers and space program specialists at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI). He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Sanford, North Carolina.
A loving son, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and brother, he is survived by his loving wife of 54 years Carolyn York Jones and 3 adult children: Dr. Rhonda (Darryl) Syler of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Gwendolyn Joysen of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Gregory Ronald Jones of Manchester, Tennessee. Also surviving Mr. Jones are 4 grandchildren, Marie (Bailey) Syler Stacks and Rachel (Colin) Syler both of Little Rock, Arkansas; Gwyneth Elizabeth Jones of Columbia, Tennessee; and Katlyn Jones of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee; 2 great grandchildren, Henry Jackson Stacks and Theodore James Stacks; and 2 brothers, J.C. (Flo) Jones of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Doug Jones of Mount Plymouth, Florida.
Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Friday, August 14 at the Marshall Memorial Funeral Home and Memory Gardens in Albertville, Alabama, with a private family viewing at the Central Funeral Home in Manchester, Tennessee, prior.
