Walter Jones
By ANNE GELHAUS
Walter Jones was serving one of his four terms as Sunnyvale mayor when he married his wife, Lenore, in 1960.
"I can't remember which one it was, though," said Lenore Jones.
Jones, who died of a stroke on April 13 at age 85, served on the Sunnyvale City Council from 1949 to 1969. He was instrumental in creating the city's Public Safety Department in 1950.
Jones came to Sunnyvale at age 12 with his widowed mother, who worked in a school cafeteria. He quit school in the seventh grade and went to work in the Libby, McNeil & Libby cannery.
In addition to his work on the City Council, Jones also served as the business agent for Cannery Workers Union Local 679 and as president of the Central Labor Council in Santa Clara County. He also headed the Council of Cannery and Food Processing Workers Unions for the 11 Western states. As his wife pointed out, he didn't need all that much formal education to succeed in business.
"He wasn't the best student," Lenore said. "His teacher told his mother that she didn't have to worry about his making it in the world because he always had his hands. He could do anything when it came to manual labor."
Jones is survived by his wife Lenore of Sonora; sons Bob of Sunnyvale, Bill of Grants Pass, Ore., and Chuck Alles of Roseville; daughter Pat Ford of Cedaredge, Colo.; brother George of Bethel Island, Calif.; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Services have been held.
Memorial donations may be made to Shriners Hospital, 1701 19th Ave., San Francisco, 94122.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 24, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.