Celebrating His Life

George W. Jones, 89, died on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023, in Carmel, Indiana. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to the late George and Sara Jones. George is survived by his wife of 68 years, Barbara; his son, Scott; his grandchildren, Benjamin, Andrew, Daniel, Alexander, Lucas, and Alessandra; and his great-grandchildren, Diana and Bruce. 

George is preceded in death by his beloved daughter, Susan Lynn (who had Down syndrome and rolled out breadsticks at Salvatores Ristorante for several years), his parents, and his sister, Carolyn Brown.

He played basketball at duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky. In his senior year, his team was Runner-up in the State Championship. For one 16-point performance, all scored in the second half, he was featured in a Courier-Journal article titled “Along Came Jones.” 

He received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Louisville’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering in 1957. In 1989, he received a Master of Science degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. 

George lived in Louisville, Ky., Norfolk, Va., and Newport, R.I., before settling in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1976. 

He served as Repair and Engineering Officer for two years, with over 80 men aboard the USS Waldron (DD 699) destroyer in the U.S. Navy. In addition to running the ship’s operations, while on tour in the Middle East, he rode a camel and saw a snake charmer.  George ascended to Commander during his 21 years in the Naval Reserve.

George was a design engineer at Girdler Corporation in Louisville for two years. He worked for 17 years at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), beginning as Field Engineer and ending as the Regional Warehousing & Distribution Director, covering five states. He then spent 18 years at St. John’s Health System in Anderson, Indiana, progressing from Director of Engineering to Vice President of Support Services. Over those 18 years, he managed over $50 million in new construction and remodels. With this experience, he supervised the construction of his son’s home, which was awarded “The #1 Crib of the Decade” by MTV Cribs and numerous other honors.

An avid golfer, George served a term as President of Anderson Country Club. I was with him for more than one "Double Eagle", but he finally hit his "Hole in One!" I asked if everyone took him out to celebrate, but he told me that tradition has it that he would buy a round of drinks for everyone.

In place of flowers, please click the "Donate" button to make a one-time contribution to The Arc, which “promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”