Gary Glen Jones died on March 23, following a two-year battle with cancer.

He was born on Nov. 23, 1933, in The Dalles, to Glen A. and Frances G. Jones.

The family moved from The Dalles to Dayton, Wash., where Jones attended elementary school and junior high. During his freshman year of high school, Jones moved to Burns.

While attending Burns High School, Jones was a three-year football letterman, playing center and defensive tackle. He was also a varsity basketball player and a field specialist on the track team.
After graduating in 1952, Jones enrolled at Willamette University. He joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity, played football and joined the Air Force ROTC program. He also met his future wife, Justine Louise Lewis, while at Willamette.

He proposed to her on a camping trip to Steens Mountain, and they were married on Nov. 5, 1954. The couple moved to Eugene and Jones enrolled at the University of Oregon. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in June, 1956.

Jones completed basic training at Fort Lewis, during the summer of 1955, and reported for duty with the United States Army at Fort Sill, Okla., on July 23, 1956. He transferred to California that same year, serving while stationed at Ford Ord and Camp Roberts. He attained the rank of 1st lieutenant and received an honorable discharge on July 28, 1958. He continued to serve his country an an officer with the U.S. Army Reserves until July 1964.

Two children were born to Jones and his wife while living in California.

In 1958, Jones and his family moved to Salem, where he began working for the Marvin Lewis Oil Co. as a service station manager, delivery truck driver and transport truck driver. Jones’ third child was born while in Salem.

In 1960, Jones began working for the Oregon Highway Department as a right-of-way appraiser. Over the next four years, he worked full-time, while attending night school at Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College. He received his LLB from Northwestern in May 1964, and passed the Oregon State Bar Exam in the summer of 1964.

After passing the bar exam, Jones worked for Pacific Title, Co. and then accepted a position with the Salem law firm of Rhoten, Rhoten and Speerstra, as a probate and estate planning lawyer. He worked as a partner in the firm until 1982, when he opened his own law office. In 1998, Jones joined his son Rod and the two practiced together for the last 10 years of his life.

In the five decades of Jones’ legal career, he served on the Marion County Bar Association board of Directors; was president of the Marion County Bar Association; co-chair of the medical-legal committee; was the Bar Bulletin editor; the secretary for the Oregon State Bar Workers’ Compensation section; and was a Willamette Valley Estate Planning Council charter member, board member and president. He also served on many Oregon State Bar Association committees, and was a speaker at many estate planning and probate seminars. He always enjoyed mentoring young members of the bar.

Jones was a member of the Salem Chamber of Commerce, the Salem Downtown Rotary Club, the Order of DeMolay, the Salem Masonic Lodge, and served on the board of the Benedictine Nursing Center of Mt. Angel. He was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, serving various positions.

Jones is survived by his children, Ginger G. Simmons and husband David of Salem, Brad G. Jones and wife Stacey of Vancouver, Wash., and Rod M. Jones and wife Lori of Salem; grandchildren Mary and Marina Simmons, Corey and Jesse Jones, and Nic Stefanie and McKenna Olson; sisters-in-laws Gay Leisman and Hazel Jones; and many nieces, nephews and extended family.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Justine.