Kenneth Haller Jones ’73

Kenneth Haller Jones, died August 28, 2019, succumbing to his fourth bout with cancer. He was predeceased by his father, Jean Jones, and mother, Frances Haller Jones.

He is survived by his brother, Steven R. Jones (Jan, Tim, Danny, Beatrice) and his sisters, Susan J. Dobson (Jim, Sarah, Jean, Susannah), Barbara D. Jones (Martin Konowitch, Sam, Jake, David) and Margaret J. Czarsty (Craig, Mary, Beth, Isabel, Lucas).

He is also survived by incredible friends, especially Michael, Karen, Sharon, Cindy, Frances, Mary Ballou and Pearlie.

He is also survived by his brother, Troy Hendrickson (Shelly, Tori, Josh). Troy was a major part of his life since they were matched in 1992 through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Ken was born in Washington, D.C. on August 21, 1951. He went to Ginter Park Elementary and graduated from James Caldwell High School (West Caldwell, N.J.) and Davidson College.

At Davidson, he was a varsity letterman on the 1970 and 1971 Southern Conference Champion Soccer teams. He had leading roles in seven major dramatic productions and was a member of Alpha Psi Omega (national honorary dramatic society) beginning in his sophomore year.

He was a Freshman Hall Counselor and was Entertainment Chairman of the student body his junior year. Ken had the highest math GRE score of his senior class and majored in economics. He spent half of his senior year in the Planning Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the first Davidson student in a program that awarded course credits for paid work experience.

After graduation, he worked as an analyst in the Planning Department at the Federal Reserve in Richmond. Ken then worked for Best Products Company, Inc. in Corporate Development and later became a Director of Merchandising.

A major interest in his life was writing fiction. Although he never achieved financial success or acclaim for his fiction, he was a six-time Fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

In 1995, he co-founded The Tax Complex, LC with Cindy Greer and Frances Goldman. They added Jim Short as a partner in 2007. The partnership flourished and continues to do so today. Ken was a Big Brother twice, to Troy and to Jonte. He was a board member and officer of local charitable organizations.

These include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Richmond (Chair, President, V.P. and Treasurer), J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Educational Foundation (Treasurer), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (Treasurer), City of Richmond Public Library Foundation (Treasurer), Commonwealth Community Foundation (Treasurer) and Boulevard United Methodist Church (Treasurer).

He also volunteered with Shalom Farms of the United Methodist Urban Ministries of Richmond, the Richmond Arts Council and Business Volunteers for the Arts.

He would be pleased to be remembered with a donation to the Kenneth Haller Jones Endowed Scholarship at the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Foundation (P.O. Box 26924, Richmond, Va. 23286) or the Kenneth Haller Jones Endowment Fund at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (154 San Angelo Drive, Amherst, Virginia 24521).

Plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date.

That which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. (Tennyson) 

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