Jones, Charles Eugene – 1924-2008

BARELA, HOLT, JONES, LANDES, MONROE, MOSBY, NIELSEN, OLIVER, SNOW, WORMLEY

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 11/13/2008 at 13:52:35

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Charles Eugene Jones (A.K.A. Charley, Eugie, Chas, Chuck or Gene) passed away in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Oct. 29, 2008. The son of Merit and Elva Jones, he was born on Nov. 3, 1924, in a farmhouse outside Ladora. Legend has it that the headboard of his mother’s bed broke during labor. Charles claimed life was always an uphill struggle after that.
Charles’ grew up in Newton and graduated from Newton Senior High School in 1942. Shortly after graduation, he moved to San Francisco, where he worked in the shipyards until he was old enough to join the Navy and fight in World War II. He trained as a radioman and shipped out for the Pacific Theater in 1943.
Charles fought in a number of significant engagements in the Pacific, including Guam, Leyte Gulf, Peleliu and Okinawa. As a Navy radioman attached to the Army and Marines, he was part of the second wave assault group that swarmed onto the beaches under heavy enemy fire.
Charles was honorably discharged from the Navy in February of 1946 at the age of 21. He returned to Newton, where he married Barbara Jean Monroe, became a systems analyst for Parson’s Manufacturing and started a family. “Eug” and “Jean,” had two sons while living in Iowa, David, born in 1951, and Danny, born in 1953.
In 1962, Charles took a job with Thiokol Chemical Corporation and moved his family to Ogden, Utah, where a third child, Maleta (Micky) was born. Charles worked for Thiokol, and Morton Thiokol, for 20 years, rising to the position of manager of material, before retiring in 1986. His wife, Jean, passed away in 1998, a victim of breast cancer.
Charles spent most of his retirement years tending to his roses at his Ogden home, puttering in the yard and cheering on the Green Bay Packers. He prided himself on attending most of his Newton Senior High School class reunions since returning home from the war, including his 66th reunion in 2008. He spent his last two years at the Utah State Veterans Nursing Home in Salt Lake City, where he developed many friendships among staff and residents. He had a kind and gentle spirit and an irrepressible sense of humor. He will be missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his sister, Ruth Wormley; his children, David (Cindy) Jones, Danny Jones and Maleta (José) Barela; his grandchildren, David Landes, Danny (Stephanie) Nielsen, Stephanie Mosby, Kimberly Holt, José Orlando (Christine) Barela III, Jenna Barela, Mychelle Barela, Annise Barela, Alix Barela and Joseph Snow-Barela; his great-grandchildren, Lydia Oliver, Luke Oliver, Liam Oliver, Hadley Nielsen, Daltin Nielsen, Carter Davis Mosby and José Orlando Barela IV.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Newton Community Education Foundation, Alumni Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 623, Newton 50208.
Source: Newton(IA) Daily News; Tuesday, November 4, 2008