Ellis Oliver Jones

Jones—Ellis Oliver Jones, 88, on October 25, 2016, in Foxdale Village in State College, Pa. Ollie was born on January 19, 1928, in Pontiac, Mich., the only child of Sybil Ellisa Ray and Ellis O. Jones. In 1949, in New Haven, Conn., he married Anna Mary Miles, a lifelong Quaker and niece of Anna Shipley Cox Brinton, his marriage bringing him a life of happiness. He studied at Yale University, University of Oxford, Columbia University, American University, and the Law School of Suffolk University. An economist, teacher, diplomat, international banker, and lawyer, he worked to help people know one another across ancient lines of ethnic and cultural conflict and across language barriers, serving 21 years as a foreign service officer in Turkey, Nigeria, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Guinea and teaching at the U.S. Air Force Academy. When he moved to Boston to support Anna’s career in education, he earned a law degree at night school, and until his retirement in Massachusetts, he worked as a banker, lawyer, and counselor to family and friends. A deeply generous soul, he was the first to step forward when help was needed.

He moved to Foxdale Village in 2013 and became as regular an attender at State College Meeting as his health allowed, and in May 2016 requested that his membership be transferred there. At Foxdale he was an active member of the Diversity Committee and offered valuable insights on the history and cultures of the Middle East at the quarterly discussions led by a retired professor of Middle Eastern history.

He kept his extended family and wide circle of friends abreast of one another’s lives and brought them together whenever possible. While Friends mourn his loss, they celebrate his memory and his spirit. He is survived by four children, Ellis Jones, Charles Jones, Barnard Jones, and Walter Jones; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.