Ronald Lee Jones

Ronald Lee Jones, 72, passed away on August 8, 2023, at St. Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.   

He was born on September 2, 1950, in Los Angeles, California to Melvin Grundy and Willie Mae Clark.  His mother later married Manuel Jones who adopted Ronald.  During this marriage, two more children were born, Nolan Leamon in 1962 and Nola Denise in 1963. 

After high school, he joined the United States Air Force at the young age of 17 and served for 8 years (August 23, 1968 – December 24, 1975).  During this time, he was a flight engineer and served under the direct command of 4-Star General Bruce Carlson.  He traveled all over Europe, Asia, South America, and throughout the United States and served during the Vietnam War.  He had the distinction of being promoted to Sgt. E-5 before he was 21 years old. 

During his service in the military, he welcomed his son, Kevin Dewayne, in 1969, and later on his baby girl, Nakia, who was born in 1976.   

Wanting to spend more time with his family, he received an honorable discharge from the Air Force. Immediately thereafter, he enrolled in college at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing.  During his time at UA Little Rock, he was active on campus and became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.  After graduation, he held several jobs.  His last two jobs were at Southwestern Bell (10 years) and Ford Motor Company where he retired in 2020 after 24 years. 

Ronald also had the good fortune to meet and fall in love with the former Cheryl Ann Lewis and on August 18, 1991, they wed and remained married for 32 years until his untimely death on August 8, 2023.  Theirs was a blended family.  Along with Ron’s two children (Kevin and Nakia) and his stepson (who is also named Kevin), he embraced Cheryl’s three children (Phillip, Jimmy, and Sylvia) and treated all of them as his own.  Ron was a wonderful grandfather, very active in their lives. He loved sports, especially football, boxing, and UFC.  He was a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan and he also enjoyed watching his grandson play for the Kansas State University football team.  He never missed watching a game, even when he was ill. Ronald put up a brave fight, however he eventually succumbed to pancreatic cancer, but we know he will be cheering on his two favorite teams from heaven. 

He was preceded in death by his father, Melvin Gundy, his adopted father, Manuel Jones, his mother, Willie Mae Boyd, and his best friend, Bill Kyles. 

He leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Cheryl Ann Jones; sisters June Hudson (Michael), Marcia Patin, Melva Grundy, and Denise Long (Calvin); brother Nolan Jones (Kathy); children Kevin Jones (MaiLeng), Kevin Brown, Nakia Howard (Arthimus), Phillip  Anthony Brooks (Alaina), Jimmy Lewis (Lekula), and Sylvia Nichols (Chester); grandchildren Kevin Jones, II, Kobe Jones, Phillip Andrew Brooks, Sydney Brooks, Imani Lewis, Amari Lewis, Alexis Lewis and Carter Howard; cousins Flossie Roper (Jesse), Mayron Johnson, Richard Ingram (Ruthie), Cynthia Collins (Greg), Donald Ingram (Renae), and Tony Ingram; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

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