Jones, Harold Eugene “Gene”

November 24, 1921-August 21, 2020. Preceding him in death, his beloved wife of 67 years, Ruth Covine Botkin Jones. Survived by daughter, Joye Jones Hengst (Joe), Barnhart; son, Dana Jones, St. Louis; grandchildren, Jennifer Hengst, Los Angeles, CA and David Hengst, York, PA; very special cousin James Reaser, St. Louis.

Gene was a proud Air Force veteran who served during World War II and the Korean War as a communications instructor for pilots. He graduated from Washington University School of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1950. He began his 34-year career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1952 as an engineer and eventually transitioned to sales and marketing. He was involved in the development of digital electronics including the cell phone.

Gene was a leader in Boy Scouts (Scoutmaster and District Commissioner), Sojourners, Military Order of the World Wars, Shriners, Sales and Marketing Executives, and many other organizations. His sense of duty and volunteerism is an inspiration to all. He lived by a biblical passage from Micah 6:8: “O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

Services: Private interment with military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Celebration of life at a later date. Contributions to the Shriners Hospital, 4400 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110 or Sappington House Library of Americana Trust, 1015 S. Sappington, Crestwood, MO 63126.