Obituary: John “Jack” Jones, 82, of Harrisville, Punta Gorda, Fla.

May 3, 2021

Jack Jones

Obituary: John “Jack” Jones, 82, of Harrisville, Punta Gorda, Fla.

John (Jack) Raymond Jones, 82, formerly of Punta Gorda, Fla., passed away in his sleep on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Jack was born September 6, 1938, in Detroit and traveled the world during his 22 years in the U.S. Air Force. Jack was married for 60 years to the former Ruth Blom Jensen of Denmark, and is survived by Ruth and his three children, Jack Jones of Ludington, Shirley Turner of La Plata, Maryland, and Erik Jones of Stafford, Virginia. Jack was also blessed with nine grandchildren, Lindsey, Brittany, Matthew, Thomas, Tracy, Michael, Carl, Sean, and Dane; and seven great-grandchildren.

Jack was raised in Detroit and Uniontown, Pennsylvania, with his brother William. He served honorably in Vietnam during the war, and lived in Germany, France, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Michigan, California, and Nevada during his 22-year Army and Air Force service. Jack earned his associate degree in food services from the Culinary Institute of America and spent much of his military career managing various officer and enlisted clubs throughout the world. After his military retirement, Jack continued to serve similar roles in the civil service, and as a real estate agent in Oscoda. Jack eventually was certified in Michigan as a general contractor where he built quality energy-efficient homes for lower income families who qualified under various FHA programs.

Jack lived his life to the fullest, traveling the world with Ruth and his children until retirement. Jack was an avid traveler, camper, and sailor, and spent much of his free time traveling throughout Europe and the U.S. After retirement Jack and Ruth lived on a homestead in Harrisville, raising farm animals and cultivating the land. Jack and Ruth also sailed their sailboat “Ingeborg” throughout the Great Lakes and spending a full year sailing through Lake Michigan, down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and around the Florida Keys, back up the U.S. East Coast and down the St. Lawrence seaway to Michigan, and home again to Harrisville.

Jack and Ruth enjoyed much of their retired life in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they enjoyed boating and traveling the U.S. studying Jack’s ancestry. In 2004, Jack and Ruth survived a devastating direct hit by hurricane Charlie—which is one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. After rebuilding their home, Jack and Ruth continued to travel the world and enjoy their retirement until Jack’s illness.

There will be a small memorial service held only for the immediate friends and family at the Fort Custer Military cemetery in Kalamazoo later this summer. If you would like to do something in honor of Jack, donations may be sent in lieu of flowers to either the Lewy Body Dementia Association at https://www.lbda.org/donate/, or the Dementia Society of America at https://www.dementiasociety.org/donate.

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, Pere Marquette Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.