Cliff C. Jones ’41

Cliff died March 6, 2014, at home in Kansas City, Mo., where he lived most of his life.

He prepared at Pembroke Country Day School. At Princeton he majored in economics and graduated with honors. He was active in inter-dormitory and interclub athletics and was a member of Tower Club.

During World War II, he was a Navy lieutenant serving as gunnery officer on a destroyer in the Pacific. He saw action in the Aleutians, the Philippines, and Okinawa, where his ship was sunk on May 4, 1945. Following military service, he joined R.B. Jones & Sons Insurance Co., working his way up to president and CEO. After retiring in 1975, Cliff entered the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas and earned a master’s degree.

He was elected president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1948 and then president of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in 1957. He was founder and chairman of Jones and Babson, the management corporation of the Babson Mutual Fund, until its sale in 1993.

Cliff was founder and second president of the Civic Council of Kansas City and director of many Kansas City corporations.

Predeceased by Patricia Busler Jones, his wife of 58 years, he is survived by his son, the Rev. Cliff C. Jones III; daughters Lisa Schellhorn and Leigh Jones-Bamman; and seven grandchildren.