Gordon Jones, 88, a longtime resident of Great Bend, passed away Aug. 10.
Born Dec. 14, 1925, in Oxford, Miss., he was the son of Sanford Aaron and Minnie Lee Jones. Gordon was the Mississippi State Javelin Champion in 1943. After his first year of college he enlisted in the United States Army, serving with distinction in the South Pacific theatre during World War II. He returned to college after the war’s conclusion.
An engineering graduate of Mississippi State University, he participated in track, marching band and football. He married Sallie Floris Gore in Marks, Miss. on June 17, 1950. He and Floris moved from Marks, Miss., to Lyons in 1952, and then to Great Bend in 1955. She died Sept. 10, 2002. He married Sharon Eyres Trost on Feb. 15, 2004. He was a partner in Rice Engineering & Operating, Inc., from 1952 until his retirement in 1989 as Vice President and General Manager.
While living in Great Bend he was a former member and choir director of Central Baptist Church. He was also a member of First United Methodist Church and chancel choir, Great Bend Noon Lions Club, American Petroleum Institute, National Rifle Association, ROMEOs Lunch Bunch, Ducks Unlimited, Quail Unlimited, and Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. Gordon was a cast member in many Community Theater productions: Fiddler on the Roof, Mame (twice), My Fair Lady (twice), The Music Man (twice), Guys & Dolls, 110 in the Shade, Oklahoma, Annie, CKMC Follies and High Fever Follies. Gordon was a dedicated hunter, fisherman, shooter of sporting clays, an avid bird watcher and renowned master of the one-liner.  
Survivors include Sharon Jones, his wife of 10 years; sister Bettie Sue Sullivan; son Harold Jones and wife Charlotta; step-children Heidi Paul, Keith Trost and wife Jamie, and Vickie Monnier and husband Tom; grandchildren Niki Barbour and husband Rex and Michael Ward; step-grandchildren Madi Trost, Nate Monnier, Stephanie Trost, Nolan Monnier and Maxwell Trost; great-granddaughter Story Ananda Barbour; nephews and nieces, JB Sullivan III and wife Marthalee, Geri Lea Sullivan, Gordon Ray Sullivan and wife Terry, Sue Ann Kalish and wife Penny, Tammy Sullivan, and Dianne Cruse; and many cousins, great-nieces and great-nephews. He is preceded in death by Floris Jones, his wife of 52 years; brother, T.R. Jones; parents, Sanford Aaron and Minnie Lee Jones; an infant daughter; and nephew Fred Cruse III.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 14, at the First United Methodist Church in Great Bend. The Reverend Lennie Maxwell will officiate. Burial will be in Great Bend Cemetery with military rites by Fort Riley Honor Guard. Friends may call from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 13, at Bryant Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to First United Methodist Church Choir or the American Cancer Society or the National Rifle Association. Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.bryantfh.net
    
Funeral arrangements provided by
Bryant Funeral Home**
1425 Patton Road
Great Bend, KS 67530
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Aug. 12, 2014