F. Edward Jones age 90 of Billings Montana

Edward Jones, AIA Emeritus September 12, 1929 to August 24, 2020

Visionary, veteran, architect, leader, developer, go-for-it sportsman, husband, father and friend¾F. Edward Jones was all these and more. And, from every angle, Ed lived his life to the fullest.

Born September 12, 1929 at Berthold, North Dakota, Ed came west on a train at the age of five with his two younger brothers and widowed mother who had secured a teaching positon in Lewistown, Montana. The family was poor—had no car—but the boys thrived in the small town with a big heart.

Ed and his brothers, Bob and Tom, were athletic and highly competitive—all lettering in sports at Fergus County High School. They also displayed musical talent, with Ed playing saxophone in the Star Dusters. The thing he focused on most was pitching. Each day he spent hours throwing balls to Bob and Tom or whoever would catch for him.

Graduating from Fergus County High School in 1947, a basketball scholarship took him to Montana State University, where he joined the SAE fraternity and sold sporting goods to pay room and board, and discovered skiing. He invested in his first partnership to buy a pair of racing skis that a group of guys shared. His pitching career started here too, with various teams sending private planes to fly him in to pitch winning games.

He was supposed to be enrolled in physical education curriculum to prepare for being a coach, but chose architecture instead. Having designed forward-thinking projects that integrated concepts of yet-to-be-developed technology, he was selected MSU’s outstanding architecture student two consecutive years. While at MSU he married his hometown sweetheart, Waynetta Stapleton.

The Korean War broke out and when Ed graduated in 1951 he had a degree in Architectural Engineering in one hand and military commission in the other, and off to St. Johns, Newfoundland he went. The Air Force wanted him for his architectural and engineering capability but also his throwing arm. While stationed at St. John’s and later at Cape Cod, he led national security development projects across the Artic and the Atlantic, and was the Air Force team’s star pitcher, competing internationally. During those years, he and Waynetta welcomed son Mark.

Leaving active duty in 1953, he settled in Billings as an aspiring architect, new father, coach and mentor to young athletes. He joined the Cushing Terrell firm as its fifth employee, and continued to serve the Air Force in the reserves until 1975, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of Major.

After Waynetta and Ed welcomed daughter Jeanette into the family it became another of Ed’s “projects” to mold his children into excellent athletes and top students. The busy family kept up with his go-go-go personality, skiing at every opportunity on water and snow.

As president of Silver Run Ski Club, Ed led the group of avid skiers who had no ski hill into taking the bold move to form a corporation and sell shares of stock to start Grizzly Peak Ski Area, now known as Red Lodge Mountain. At one point Ed was leading CTA and managing the operations of the ski area. Those were challenging but exhilarating times. He served on the board of directors at Red Lodge Mountain for many years. But skiing for this guy wasn’t just a few turns going downhill or mashing a mogul here and there. If it involved helicopters in the Canadian Rockies or the back side of the Grand Tetons, or the Beartooth headwall—that was SKIING.

For Ed, it was always play hard; work hard. He evolved the Cushing Terrell firm to CTA Architects, became its first president, and launched the firm into the future by buying a plane to expand its practice across the west and into Alaska. He hired a full time pilot but often took the controls himself, logging 3500 hours of air time and becoming known as the “Flying Cowboy Architect”. He spurred CTA to build new headquarters, pushed for becoming computerized, and developed a master plan and formed the CTA Development Corporation to design and build Rocky Village. He also designed and served as project manager for 69 K-12 school facilities and 32 college and university projects, as well as countless college and university masterplans and other architectural works. He served on national boards including the Council of Educational Facility Planners International Council and the National Ski Owners Association.

He somehow found time to take up golf, and in spite of being a pretty darn good athlete, spent a solid year on the driving range at Yellowstone Country Club (YCC) before making contact with the ball. The late Paul Allen, YCC Director of Golf would say to Ed, “Don’t tell anyone where you’re getting your lessons”. As with everything he did, Ed worked at golf until he mastered the game and won the club’s prized Roundup tournament and also served on YCC’s board of directors.

He married Nancy Allyn and joyfully added son Jeff and daughter Jennifer to the extended family. Ed took a lot of ribbing about fathering children at the same he was becoming a grandfather, but took great pride in his growing family and their many talents and accomplishments.

Seeing that renewable energy would be vital to our future, Ed left CTA after 35 years and developed a company to build alternative energy projects across the west. At a time when many people retire, he was still forging solutions to problems and building a legacy.

While Ed loved and adored his first two wives and their children, it was a “third times a charm” transformation that led him to an enduring relationship. He married Merry Lee Olson in 1985 and welcomed her daughter, Fawn, into the fold. Ed and Merry Lee set their sights higher and moved to Southern California, expanding their love of Montana’s outdoors to include the stunning Pacific Coast and the entire world.

Their shared interest in World Heritage sites, architecture, nature and seacoasts took them to over a hundred different locations in North America and the World. From Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom, Borobudur, Machu Picchu; to the shores of the Andaman, Java and China Seas to the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea, they explored and photographed, and wined and dined on local cuisine. But their most beloved destinations were Merry Lee’s family’s simple cabin on the Stillwater River in Montana, the California coast, and North America’s many golf courses and ski areas.

A need to assist aging parents brought them back to Montana where they again enjoyed skiing at Red Lodge Mountain and summer weekends at the cabin on the Stillwater or golfing at Yellowstone Country Club. As his own career began to wind down, Ed continued to learn about new forms of architecture and returned to MSU to obtain a Masters degree in Green Architecture at the age of 80. He also loyally supported Merry Lee’s endeavors to lead YWCA Billings in realizing its full potential.

As Ed faced a variety of physical ailments that took away flying, skiing and golfing, he never complained and always answered the question, “How are you today?” with “Better than I deserve”. Until the end he enjoyed his nightly cocktail of Cutty Sark scotch and soda with a lemon twist over clear ice cubes, and a steak every Saturday.

Ed passed away on August 24, 2020. He is survived by his wife, Merry Lee Olson; his children Mark Jones (Littleton, CO), Jeanette Jones Adam (Houston, TX), Jeffrey Jones (Newfield, NY), and Jennifer Jones Hurwitz (White Sulphur Springs, MT); his step-daughter Fawn Olson Reed (Billings, MT); grandchildren Sarah Adam Dykes, Derek Adam, Eric Jones, Emmett Reed, Elsa Menter-Jones, and Piper Hurwitz; and great grandchildren Stefan and Britta Dykes and Ayla, Austin and Andrew Adam, and Joaquin Jones. He is also survived by his brother Tom Jones (Ledger, MT), many nieces and nephews, and his former wives Waynetta Corneau and Nancy Downing, both of Billings. And many, many treasured friends.

A celebration of Ed’s life was held on August 31, 2019 while he could still attend and greet the 80 guests who came from near and far to honor him. Cremation has taken place, and a private service will be held with his ashes spread at his favorite locations. His distinguished life and military service will also be commemorated with services at Yellowstone National Cemetery, on a date still to be determined. Memorials may be made to YWCA Billings, 909 Wyoming Avenue, Billings, MT 59101 or online at ywcabillings.org/donate.