Official Obituary of Phillip Jones March 17, 1939 ~ May 23, 2024 (age 85)

On May 23, 2024, Phillip Jones, loving father, grandfather and brother passed away at age eighty-five.

Phil was born in Portales, New Mexico on March 17, 1939, to parents Foy and Bedie Jones. He grew up on the family farm in Floyd, New Mexico.  He had many fun-filled days and many hard workdays with his parents and older brother, Kenneth, during the 18 years of growing up on the farm.  He attended all 12 years of schooling in the Floyd Consolidated School system where he was very active in basketball, baseball, and track. He graduated as Co-Valedictorian of his class in 1957.

After his graduation from Floyd Schools, he attended the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, New Mexico, for two years before transferring to New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruses, New Mexico.  While in Las Cruses, he married LaNora Marion Chumbley, formerly of Clovis, New Mexico, on September 6, 1961, and continued his course work at NMSU.  Phil completed his BS in Agricultural Engineering in 1963.  Upon graduation, Phil accepted a job with the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) as an Agricultural Engineer and they moved to Las Vegas, NM to begin his career and family.

In the ensuing years, Phil accepted transfers and promotions to further his career and the family moved seven times with SCS, from local level to state level, to regional level and finally to national level responsibilities. His work ranged from designing and installing conservation projects for farmers and ranchers to the installation of large flood control projects such as earthen dams and flood control channels to protect municipalities.  His final position was as the supervisor of the SCS soil testing laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska, determining engineering properties of soils for 35 states used for designing and constructing flood control projects nationwide. Eventually, under his supervision, the laboratory was upgraded to the National Soil Mechanics Center.  While serving in the Albuquerque, New Mexico State Office, he completed graduate level coursework in Civil Engineering at the University of New Mexico and was able to take and pass the Civil Engineering Professional Engineers Exam.  He spent the remainder of his career with SCS in Civil Engineering Positions related to Soil Engineering or Soil Mechanics.  He retired in 1997 as the Director of the National Soil Mechanics Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, completing 34 years of service with the SCS.

Phil was a Registered Professional Engineer in New Mexico, a member of the Masonic Lodge, a Past Master of Bethlehem Lodge 56 AM&FM, Belen, New Mexico and a Member of The Order of the Eastern Star in Belen.  He was a member of The Scottish Rite in Albuquerque, NM.  He belonged to various professional organizations during his career including the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, the American Society of Testing Materials, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

In November 2000, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Phil lost the love of his life, LaNora, to kidney cancer after 39 years of marriage.

In September 2003, Phil moved from Lincoln, Nebraska to Sun City in Georgetown, Texas to be closer to family.

Phil was preceded in death by his parents Foy and Bedie Jones and his wife, LaNora. He is survived by his brother Kenneth Jones (Angie) of Venice, Florida; son Steve and grandson Sage of Lewiston, Idaho; son Mark (Dawn) and grandkids Alec and Emily of Round Rock, Texas; grandson Andrew Vose (Stephanie) of Mead, Colorado; and daughter Joyce Worthington (Roy) of Richardson, Texas.

The family is planning a graveside service in Floyd, New Mexico on June 8, 2024, at 10:00 am. Wheeler Mortuary in Portales, New Mexico, will be handling the services. For those interested, they will be live streaming the service.  The link for the live stream will be available in Phil’s obituary on their website https://www.wheelermortuary.net/listings.

As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be made to the Kidney Cancer Association in memory of Phillip Jones at PO Box 676226, Dallas, Texas 75267-6226 or by visiting www.kidneycancer.org, an organization Phillip felt strongly about.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Phillip Jones, please visit our floral store.