Cleon L Jones

Cleon L Jones passed away on November 2, 2022. He was born on November 24, 1940 in Electra, Texas. He was affectionately called C L. His parents were Cleon Leonidas and Ethel Roberta Fillman Jones. He was the youngest of three sons. His older brothers were Armond Clive and Donald Gene Jones.

The family moved to the Magnolia oil camp near Tyler, Texas for his father's job when he was very young. When he was 6 years old his father's employer, now called Mobil, transferred them to Brownfield, Texas. In high school he worked at the Purrs Super Market as a courtesy clerk and at a Mobil station as a gas station attendant. He graduated from Brownfield High School in 1959 and joined the Navy.

After his training at the Naval base in San Diego, California he was stationed on the U.S.S. Yorktown. For his four years of service he was based at Long Beach, California, and stationed at Bremerton Washington; Honolulu Hawaii; Yokuska, Sasebo, Kobe, and Hokodate Japan; Subic Bay and Manilla, Philippine Islands, and Hong Kong China. When honorably discharged in 1964 he was classified as an electrician mate second class. His parents had transferred to Seminole, Texas during this time. When he came home to Seminole he met his future wife, Patricia Ann Ragan at a Yachtse party at his parents' home. She was home after teaching a year in Denver. Her parents came to the party and brought her along to meet C L. They were partners for the game and had a Coke date the next afternoon. C L worked for an oil exploration crew in fall 1963 in Seminole, as an electrician for Mobil Oil Co. from December 1963 to August 1964 in Andrews, Texas. Then he attended Texas Tech in Lubbock from fall 1964 to August 1965, while working as an electrical repairman for Fletcher Electric, an electrical supply store. Summer of 1965 he worked as a machinist helper for Mobil Oil Co. in Andrews, Texas. He decided to go to Denver that fall and arrived unannounced thinking he could see an ex Navy friend. His friend was on his honeymoon so he called Patricia. He was a contract laborer at Ruberoid Co. in October 1965, and worked for Otis Elevator and Westinghouse Elevator from October 1965 to January 1966 before being hired by IBM. He attended the National Electronics institute in 1966. He and Pat were married in Seminole on June 24, 1967 and moved to Longmont, Colorado where C L worked for IBM until 1996. From 1970 until 1977 he attended night classes at the University of Colorado at Denver to get an electrical engineering degree, and withdrew when he was classified as a junior.

He started with IBM in Denver in 1966 in a warehouse and moved to the new IBM plant near Boulder shortly after it opened. He had various jobs and titles in different departments as a computer programmer. He became a Staff Engineer despite never obtaining his degree. His retirement was in 1997. After retiring, he worked for CIBER as a consultant back at IBM from January 1997 to November 2001.

In 2015 they moved to Loveland to downsize for his health reasons. C L was a member of First United Methodist Church in Longmont for 48 years, serving on several committees and as an usher. In 2015 he joined Trinity United Methodist Church in Loveland, again ushering, doing the sound system, volunteering in the church office and serving on the church Love Fund committee.

As a boy his favorite movie star was Roy Rogers, and later it was John Wayne. Some singers whose songs he liked were Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, John Denver, and Petula Clark. Traveling, camping, fishing, golf, card and board games were his favorite pastimes. Two memorable family camping trips were to western Canada and DisneyWorld. His favorite camping place was Trappers Lake where they went annually for many years. He was a longtime fan of the Cleveland Indians, Broncos, and Rockies. He also volunteered in the Medical Records department filing for several years at Longmont United Hospital. With Pat, he went on a BUUMP Mission trip to Moss Point, Mississippi 6 months after Hurricane Katrina.

A family vacation to California was taken when daughter Kathy was only a year old. C L, Pat and Kathy went to Germany and Austria when their daughter Debbi was an exchange student. He and Pat toured Hawaii; Australia and New Zealand, and Tahiti and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Over the years he and Pat took several genealogy trips to the places where their ancestors lived. They took cruises with land excursions to the Caribbean for their 20th anniversary, to Alaska, and to the New England Coast, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for their 50th anniversary.

He had a dry sense of humor; was a gentle and humble man who was always willing to forgive and forget, putting his family before him, and a loving husband, father and grandfather.

He is survived by his wife Pat; daughter Katherine Dianne Mean, daughter Deborah Leanne Huntley and husband James; grandsons Sean Gordon Huntley, Riley Phan Mean, and Reece Jones Mean. Other surviving relatives are his sister-in-law Marilyn Jones; nieces Rhonda McKenzie and Donna Lichtenberg and husband David; nephews Thomas Jones, and Brett Jones and wife Marilyn; great nieces Melissa, Emily Price, Lauren Conboy and husband Matt, Katie Jones, and Whitney Poff; great nephews Seth McKenzie, Jesse Lichtenberg and wife Brittany and Kyle Lichtenberg; great great nieces Amber Price, Ezri Ray Conboy and Briar Rose Lichtenberg; great nephews Gabe Price, Brian Jones, Gavin Conboy, and Charlie Lichtenberg; aunts Peggy Ballard, Toni Smith and Cynthia Drieth. He has numerous other Jones and Fillman surviving relatives. His parents and two brothers are deceased.

Memorial contributions can be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, American Lung Association and American Heart Association. His service will be at Trinity United Methodist Church on November 19, 2022 at 10:30 p.m. with visitation at the church an hour before. A graveside service will be at Mountain View Cemetery in Longmont on Monday, November 21 at 11 p.m.