Charles Cary "Casey" Jones
Charles Cary “Casey” Jones, 90, hoisted the main and set course for the horizon on 24 February 2024. He joins brothers Dicky and Ruff, reuniting old Hampton’s Jones Boys once again.
Cary was born 4 April 1933 to Curle and Elaine Jones in Hampton VA, growing up at his grandmother Mollie’s house on Armistead Avenue. At Hampton High School (class of ’51) he played on the State Championship football team and was named Class Poet. He worked at his father’s Jones Esso Marina (now site of the Hampton Yacht Club) then graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a Civil Engineering degree in 1955. After leaving the Army as a Major, his long civil service career culminated in the Senior Executive Service as Deputy Assistant Chief of Engineers for the US Army Corps of Engineers, retiring in 1997.
Cary loved Dickens, cigars, sailing, jazz clubs and the Great American Songbook. Always returning to his native Virginia, he enjoyed career assignments in Heidelberg, Germany (with family travels throughout Europe), Alaska and Washington DC. In retirement he designed and built a beautiful waterfront enclave on the Chesapeake in Reedville, VA, scene of many a grandchild’s first fish, jellyfish sting, and raw oyster. He took great pleasure sailing his 33-foot ketch from Poquoson to Solomon’s Island MD and many ports between. After many wonderful years at the beach house, Cary moved to Fredericksburg, back to Hampton at The Chamberlin, and lastly to Harmony on the Peninsula in Yorktown.
Cary was pre-deceased by brothers Dick and CAPT Ruff Jones of Hampton. He is survived by his children Scott Jones of Mathews VA, CAPT Bruce Jones and Paige Jones of Astoria OR, and Lance Pedigo of Williamsburg VA, as well as five grandchildren and five great grandchildren, and Cary’s first wife Jane Johnson Jones. In 2002, at 70, he married Sarah Vaughan Newbold who shared his life until her passing in 2023.
Cary made sure his children and grandchildren knew he loved them, knew how to tie a knot and clean a fish, were curious about the world around them and beyond, and were not afraid to travel and see it up close. Those kids are now pilots, musicians, skydivers, actors, scuba divers, and global travelers, and without exception treasure each other’s company and their memories of Dad, Pop, Grandpa, Cary.
Cary spent his last days surrounded by his loving children who dearly appreciate the wonderful nurses at Harmony on the Peninsula and Riverside Hospital/5 th Floor Tower. The family will hold a private memorial at a later date. Remembrances in Cary’s honor should be made to the Veteran’s support organization of your choice; messages and thoughts can be shared at www.rhaydensmith.com.