Ralph Lorne Jones

RALPH LORNE JONES Ralph (Scoop) Lorne Jones, age 95, of Brandon Oaks, Roanoke, VA, Haileyville, OK, New York City and Chatham, NJ, died on April 22, 2011. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Cabell Brand Jones, of Salem, VA. He is survived by a son, Gerald Stanton Jones, and his wife, Linda Burns Jones, of Hingham, MA; four grandchildren, Courtney Vreeland Jones of South Boston, MA, Lauren Elizabeth McElaney of Boston, MA, Catherine Newton Jones of Atlanta, GA, and Randolph Bryan Jones, of Atlanta, GA; a great grandson, Randolph Bryan Jones III; and a daughter-in-law, Katie Newton Jones, widow of Mr. Joness younger son, Randolph Bryan Jones, of Nashville, TN, who passed away in 2003; a niece Cindy Lou Jones Cook, of McAlester, OK, and a nephew, Stanton Harold Jones, of McAlester, OK. Mr. Jones is also survived by Marie Knipple of Salem, VA, long-time caregiver to Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Mr. Jones was born July 12, 1915, in Haileyville, OK. His parents were Stanton Morris Jones and Naomi Eells Jones. He graduated from Haileyville High School in 1933, the Univ. of Oklahoma in 1937, and the OU Law School with honors in 1940. Mr. Jones served in the US Navy from 1940 to 1945 as a gunnery officer. He spent most of WW II on the carriers USS Enterprise and USS Lexington. Mr. Jones participated in more than 20 major sea battles, including the Doolittle raid on Tokyo and the critical battle at Midway. Lt. Commander Jones was on the USS Enterprise as she was expected to dock in Pearl Harbor early in the morning of July 7, 1941, as the USS Enterprise was a major target of the Japanese. Her unarmed planes flew into Pearl Harbor ahead of the USS Enterprise, only to run into the surprise attack. The planes radioed back about the attack, thus saving the Enterprise. Lt. Commander Jones and the Enterprise went on to many other successes at sea. The Enterprise was nicknamed The Ghost Ship as she was reported many times as having been sunk by Japanese planes, and left burning after attacks. Mr. Jones brother, Stanton Edgar Jones, who survived the sinking of the battleship Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, died in 1979. Scoop and Elizabeth Cabell Brand Jones, of Salem, VA, were married in Salem, VA, on December 25, 1944. He retired in 1985 as a senior partner in the New York City law firm of Brown and Wood, after a 40-year career. They lived briefly in New York City, moved to Chatham, NJ in 1951, and retired in 1995 to Brandon Oaks, a retirement community in Roanoke, VA, and then recently moved to a memory care residence in MA to be closer to his surviving son and his family. Mr. Jones was a member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, the Roanoke Country Club, the Dunes Golf and Beach Club of Myrtle Beach, SC and the Canoe Brook Country Club of Summit, NJ. There will be a private burial service. In lieu of flowers, small donations may be made to the Stanton E. Jones Memorial College Scholarship Fund, c/o Haileyville High School in Haileyville, OK 74501. An online guest book is available for family and friends by visiting www.johnmoakey.com. John M. Oakey and Son, Salem is serving the Jones Family.