James Leo Jones died on September 12 in Lexington, Massachusetts. He was born on December 11, 1931 to Marie Anne Carney Jones and Frederick Leo Jones in Erie, PA. In third grade he formed a lifelong friendship with Kenneth Norland. In high school they both joined the Naval Reserve, which led to NROTC scholarships at Harvard. Jim graduated in 1954, Ken several years later. Jim went on to serve as an officer in the Navy aboard the USS Putnam.

After being discharged in 1957 he received a master’s degree in physics in 1960 from Case Institute in Cleveland, OH. He continued physics studies at Brandeis, and later worked in physics as a radiation officer at MIT until he retired in 1988.

In Cleveland he met and married Bonnie Winton. They then bought a house in Lexington, MA, where their three children were born: Rebecca in 1963, Bennett in 1964, and Tracey in 1968. Jim was active in the Lexington Civil Rights Committee and the opposition to the war in Vietnam, being arrested at one point. Jim and Bonnie divorced in 1976, sharing joint custody.

In 1985, Jim met Deborah Yardley Beers while square dancing. They were married in First Parish in Lexington in 1989. During this time Jim became deeply involved in gardening, to the extent of serving as president of the North American Rock Garden Society for three years. He also authored a science fiction novel, A Matter of Perception, published through Amazon in 2025.

He leaves Debbie, his wife, and his children Rebecca, Bennett and Tracey.