James Sumner Jones, II, 80, died at his home in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, November 11, 2020. He had Parkinson’s Disease, which he battled with grace and courage for the past 30 years.
He was born February 1, 1940 in Wheeling, West Virginia, the son of Wilbur Stone Jones and Mary Calvert Walke (Truxtun) Jones. He attended The Hill School, a preparatory boarding school in Pottstown, PA and graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1961, followed by a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1964. After graduating law school and Army Basic Training, he came to Washington and joined the law firm of Purcell & Nelson where he participated in the first variable annuity filing with the SEC. He later opened his own law firm, Jones and Blouch. While working as a lawyer, he also served in the United States Army Reserve and later in the United States Navy Reserves, retiring with the rank of First Lieutenant, Senior Grade.
In 1967, he married Penelope Ann Townsend and they made their home in Bethesda, Maryland where they raised two sons, Peter and Michael, and a black poodle, Circe. Jim loved to travel and enjoyed many trips to Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean. He was a lifelong student of ancient and Biblical history, archeology, and Mesoamerican culture. He taught himself to read Mayan glyphs and had especially fond memories of trips with family to Mexico and Guatemala. He loved sailing and kept a boat, “First Venture” in Annapolis and sailed on the Chesapeake Bay for many years. He enjoyed scuba diving and was also an avid windsurfer and spent many weekends windsurfing on the Potomac River.
Jim was kind, funny, and a great conversationalist. He had a talent for making anyone feel important and interesting, no matter whom he encountered. An example of his wonderful sense of humor is how he wore sew-on patches of The Incredible Hulk on his dress socks to show them off at Stone
& Thomas board meetings. His family will fondly remember him for playing his bagpipes as a Sunday-morning alarm clock and surprising family members by arriving in full scuba gear and diving into the swimming pool during a birthday party.
In addition to his two sons and wife of fifty-two years, he is survived by siblings Calvert Jones Armbrecht of Charleston, West Virginia, Marguerite Jones Palmer of Cincinnati, Ohio and Wilbur Stone Jones, Jr. of Wheeling, West Virginia, twelve nieces and nephews, and five grandchildren.
He will be dearly missed by all.