Class of 1929

William Wesley Jones

November 28, 1910 – February 26, 2003

Born on November 28, 1910, in the West Texas panhandle town of Miami, William Wesley Jones was the son of Walter Freeman and Berta “Bertie” Ella (Crawford) Jones. He began life filled with a ceaseless energy and curiosity that would take him around the world and through countless adventures.

A 1929 graduate of Perry High School in Perry, Oklahoma, William went on to the United States Military Academy, graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1936. He later went on to do graduate work in meteorology at MIT and the University of Chicago.

While going through pilot training for the new Army-Air Corps at Randolph Field, he met Eleanor, the daughter of Lt. Col. Emile Cutrer and his wife, Mary. In 1938 he married Eleanor Cutrer in San Antonio, Texas. Over the next 12 years and through many postings, they had four children, Brice, Eleanor Fithian, Marilyn, and Emilia. Besides being a dedicated Air Force officer, attaining the rank of colonel, William gave his children his greatest legacy–a lifetime of love, encouragement, great humor, and unending support. Not only did William and Eleanor thrive at grandparenting, but they became the favorite grandparents of all their grandchildren’s friends, opening their home at all hours for afternoon pool parties or for late-night dips in the Jacuzzi.

When his beloved Eleanor passed on in 1996, after 58 years of marriage, William drew even closer to his four children and his nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Today, William’s family embraces him in our love and gratitude for being the most cherished and beloved father and grandfather that any child was ever blessed to have.

Friends are welcome to attend services on Sunday, March 2, at 3 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 2620 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento. Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.