Robert Warren Jones

Robert Warren Jones, age 85, died at Elizabeth House in Hendersonville on Nov. 12, 2013, after a sudden illness.

Bob was born the only child of William Wolford Jones and Bertha Kraft Jones on Dec. 3, 1927, in Louisville, Ky. He lived predominately in Kentucky and attended Millersburg Military Academy and Lexington's Henry Clay High School, graduating in 1946.

Serving during the Korean War with the United States Air Force, Bob flew 55 night interdiction missions as a waist gunner. During his service, he found the love of his life, Caroline Turpen in Englewood, Colo., to whom he was married happily for 50 years until her death in 2001.

After completing military service, Bob attended Eastern Kentucky University, receiving a B.S. in industrial education. He taught high school in Urbana, Ill., while obtaining a master's in education from the University of Illinois-Champaign.

In 1959, the family moved to Murray, Ky., where Bob taught electronics and hydraulics at Murray State University. He enjoyed running the student ham radio club and became a certified PADI Scuba Diving Instructor. When Bob retired from Murray State after 25 years, he and his wife moved to Clarksville, Tenn., where he was chairman of the Industrial Arts Department at Austin Peay University. In 1988, they retired again and moved to the mountains of North Carolina, where Bob had learned to swim as a child at Lake Lure. There he taught part-time at Blue Ridge Community College and AB Tech Community College.

Bob is survived by his four daughters, who meant the world to him: Barbara Rogers (Dr. Ralph Rogers), of Newburgh, Ind.; Linda Moore (LTC (USA ret.) Stanley Moore) of Fletcher; Karen Jones Squires (James Squires, J.D.) of Norfolk, Va.; and Polly McCage (PR Chief (USN ret.) John McCage) of Anderson, S.C. He was a proud granddaddy of 10 beloved grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and devoted brother-in-law to Esther Bauman of Hendersonville.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 22, 2013, at the Western North Carolina State Veteran's Cemetery in Black Mountain.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Four Seasons Compassion for Life 571 South Allen Rd., Flat Rock, NC 28732 or The Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.

Bob was a good man: a much beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend who will be sorely missed. He approached life with wit and humor, perseverance and love, and was kind to all.

An online register book is available online for family and friends by visiting www.thosshepherd.com.

Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.