A graveside service for Donald Jay Jones, 86-year-old former Hydro, OK resident, will be held on Monday, June 1, 2020 at 10:00 AM at Hydro Masonic Cemetery with Pastor Taylor Anderson officiating. Burial is under the direction of Lockstone Funeral Home.
Donald Jay Jones was born on May 14, 1934 to C.C. and Maude (Orr) Jones in Taloga, OK and passed away on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, OK at the age of 86 years, 12 days.
Jay graduated from Leedey High School with the class of 1952. He played on two state finalist basketball teams at Leedey, as well as competing in track and field. In addition to playing baseball for the high school, he played American Legion baseball in Elk City and sandlot games wherever he could find one. After high school, Jay joined the Oklahoma National Guard and accepted a scholarship to play baseball and basketball at Southwestern Oklahoma State. He graduated with a BA in education in 1956. Jay was drafted by the New York Giants and played for their minor league affiliates in Muskogee, OK and Hastings, NE. Jay enlisted in the US Army, playing baseball and basketball in Army tournaments. He cherished his time as a personnel clerk at the West Point Military Academy. After receiving an Honorable Discharge from the US Army, Jay made his way home to Oklahoma, where he taught and coached in the Butler school system, while continuing to serve in the National Guard Reserve. He returned to school, earning a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Southwestern. From 1965 until his retirement in 1996, Jay served as a counselor and area supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Jay had a passion for helping people, but his true love was sports — he coached baseball, played golf, and was an enthusiastic regular at games of all kinds in Weatherford and Hydro.
Jay is survived by one son, Paul, and wife Mary, of Winston- Salem, NC; one sister-inlaw, Jan Rogers of Las Cruces, NM; and numerous beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and six brothers and sisters. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or Folds of Honor.