Jones, III, Joe Frank

Dr. Joe Frank Jones, III, 65, of Radford, died Tuesday, January 20, 2015. Dr. Jones was a U.S. Air Force veteran with service in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. After military service, he returned to college and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Armstrong State College, Savannah, Georgia.

He continued his education as a student of philosophy, ultimately earning his Ph.D. in ancient Greek philosophy from Florida State University. Dr. Jones served as a member the faculty of Barton College, Wilson, North Carolina, from 1991-2011, where he became Chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy. He moved to Radford University, Radford, Virginia, in 2011, as Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Frank, Jr. and Ruth Smith Jones.

Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Polly Bush Jones; daughter, Jesse Leandra Jones of Raleigh, NC; brothers, Charles Richard Jones and Steven Randall Jones, both of Savannah, GA; sister and her spouse, Susan Ellen and Debbie Ann Jones of Tulsa, OK; sister-in-law and her spouse, Connie Bush and Lehman L. McDonald, Jr. of Neptune Beach, FL; several nieces and nephews; and many friends and former students.

A celebration of Dr. Jones’s life will be held at 11:00 am, Monday, January 26, 2015 at the Mullins Funeral Home in Radford and also at 3:00 pm, Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at the Kennedy Family Theatre, Barton College, Wilson, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, Theatre at Barton, P.O. Box 5000, Wilson, NC 27893 or The Community Foundation of the New River Valley, P.O. Box 6009, Christiansburg, VA 24068.

The Jones family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford. www.mullinsfuneralhome.com