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.
