DONALD CLARICE JONES

POCATELLO – Donald Clarice Jones passed away May 3, 2012 at the home of his daughter in Pingree, ID, due to complications following a fall.

Don was born February 14, 1924 at the family home in the village of Cherry Creek, south of Malad, to Hyrum J. and Clara Burkhart Jones. He was the youngest of six brothers and three older half-sisters. His mother passed away when he was about three weeks old. As a result Don was taken to Salt Lake City to be cared for by relatives. During this time his father remarried and started another family. Don never became a part of that family and was often sent to live with his older brothers and half-sisters. This was during the Depression years and times were very difficult and as a result they could not always afford to feed an extra mouth very long.

When he became old enough he was sent to the CCC camps (Civilian Conservation Corp) where he served at the Arrowrock Dam and also in McCall. After being released he went to Salt Lake City to seek employment. He worked for the W.T. Grant Co. for about a year. With World War II under way, Don decided to enlist in the US Coast Guard in the summer of 1942. During this period of the conflict, the entire West Coast was patrolled at night on foot by the Coast Guard. Under very strict blackout conditions, each serviceman on patrol was supplied with a .38 revolver and five rounds of ammunition to ward off any invasion. When it became evident that an invasion wasn’t imminent, Don was assigned to a patrol frigate, the USS Brownsville, where his duties included manning the weather station, air-sea rescue, and submarine patrol. During this time, a summit meeting attended by President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill was held in San Francisco and the USS Brownsville encountered Japanese submarines outside the Golden Gate Bridge. Don received an honorable discharge from the service in 1946.

After his discharge from the service, Don worked construction on the Anderson Ranch Dam and also one in western Kansas. In the summer of 1948, he went to work for Frances Peterson in Bancroft where he met the love of his life, Dureen Smith. They were married January 21, 1949, at the Alameda City Hall. They were later sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple. That fall he went to work for Kraft Cheese in Pocatello and then went back to Bancroft in the spring to help with farm work. In 1950 they moved to Los Angeles where Don worked for General Motors and then later in the oil fields. The family moved back to Pocatello in 1956 and Don went to work for FMC, where he was employed until his retirement in 1983. He worked as a plant laborer, security guard, safety technician, heavy equipment foreman, furnace foreman and training instructor. He loved being a backyard mechanic and kept all the family vehicles running.

He served for many years as president and board member of the Westside Water Users Ann., controlling the Fort Hall water allocation for the neighborhood. Don spent many years volunteering his time to the Boy Scouts of America where he served as Scoutmaster and Merit Badge committee member. He was involved with the local Toastmasters. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in numerous positions including Sunday School president, executive secretary, Elders quorum, Stake finance clerk, High Council, High Priest group presidency, Stake Sunday School president and Stake Missionary. Along with his wife, they served as temple workers in the Idaho Falls temple for five years.

Don is survived by his wife, Dureen and three children, Hyrum (Carmen) Jones, Terri (Wayne) Warren, and Rose Jones; 12 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren. Also surviving are three brothers, Bob (Mardella) Jones, Monte (Indy) Jones and Bill (Sherry) Jones, one sister, Margie Lowery, and four sisters-in-law, June Jones, Iris Jones, Pat Jones and Sharon Jones.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two great grandsons, Benson Byington and Eric Warren; nine brothers, Earl, Lester, Allen, Melvin, Marvin, Ervin, Steve, Gene, DeRay and three sisters, Laura, Sarah and Lulu.

Funeral services will be held May 8, 2012 at the Pocatello West Stake Center with former Bishop Russell Butler of the 18th Ward officiating. Interment will be in Restlawn Memorial Gardens with Military Rites provided by the Pocatello Veterans Honor Guard.

Arrangements are under the care of Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel.