Roa A. Jones

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June 21, 2009

Anonymous The Meadville Tribune Sun Jun 21, 2009, 05:47 PM EDT

ERIE — Roa Alton Jones, 76, a resident of Erie, died Friday morning, June 19, 2009, at Pleasant Ridge East following a brief illness.

He was born in Cambridge Springs on Feb. 19, 1933, son of the late Olaf and Letitia VanCamp Jones.

He grew up in the Erie area, moving to North and South Carolina when his work took him there, coming back to Erie in 1988.

In 1959, he went to work for Zurn Industries/Hays Manufacturing Division as a design engineer. In 1977, he moved to Gastonia, N.C., with Hays, where he became manager of engineering and manufacturing. In 1980, he began work at Mueller Steam in Lumberton, N.C., as vice president of manufacturing and engineering. Four years later, he moved on to Triangle Tool in Orangeburg, S.C., where he held the same position. He returned to Erie in 1988, where he worked at Smith Meter as manufacturing and project engineer until his retirement in March of 1999.

He was a 1951 graduate of Cambridge Springs High School and a 1958 graduate of Alliance College in Cambridge Springs, where he earned an associate degree in applied sciences.

Roa enjoyed golf, woodworking, being outdoors, and refereeing high school soccer, basketball and football, and women’s college basketball in North Carolina. He was very proud that he worked with youth football in Erie. He was a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association official for 30 years in the states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and South Carolina. He played high school basketball, football and baseball and lettered in all three in each of his four years of high school. He was a loyal North Carolina Tar Heel basketball fan for many years and shared his enthusiasm with his grandsons.

Roa was also a pilot, and enjoyed his own four-seater Cessna, which was his 50th birthday present to himself.

He had been a member of Wayne Park Baptist Church for many years.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 58 years, whom he married in 1951, Norma DeVore Jones; three daughters, Brenda Richardson and her husband, Sam, of Roanoke, Va., Cinda Ganzer and her husband, Albert, of Harborcreek, and Sally Jones of Erie; and two sisters, Leora Giewont of Wattsburg and Janice Thomas and her husband, James, of Cambridge Springs. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Jeremy Richardson and his wife, Melanie, Jonathan Richardson and his wife, Heather, Keith Ganzer and his wife, Emily, and Matthew Ganzer; four great-grandchildren, Gabe Solorzano, Abby Richardson and Anna and Jack Richardson; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Carrol Shreve.

Friends may call today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home, 5000 Wattsburg Road, Erie (at the corner of Pine Avenue and East Gore Road).

A service will be held there Tuesday at 11 a.m., followed by burial in Miller Station Cemetery, Cambridge Springs.

The family suggests memorials may be made to Parkinson Partners of Northwestern Pennsylvania, 3952 Pine Ave., Erie, Pa. 16504; or the Erie City Mission, PO Box 407, Erie, Pa. 16512.

To send condolences, visit www.icgerie.com on the Web.

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Roa A. Jones

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