William Howard Jones, Jr.

William Howard Jones, Jr, 91, a native of Charlotte, NC, passed away peacefully in his home at Tega Cay on February 21, 2016 with family members present. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 67 years, Nancy Isenhour Jones, only eight days prior to his passing. Howard was born on April 14, 1924 to William Howard Jones, Sr and Mary Bell Bible Jones. He was also preceded in death by his brother, Austin Jones; his daughter, Jan Lee Cellucci; and his sons, Ike Jones and Bobby Jones. Howard is survived by his son Bill and daughter-in-law Kay Jones of Annapolis, MD; daughter-in-law Rosemary Jones of Monroe, NC; son-in-law Bob Cellucci of Berkeley, CA; son-in-law Robert Hollis of Wichita Falls, TX; brother-in-law, Tommy Harris of Charlotte; sister-in-law, Peaches Hicks of Charlotte; and grandchildren: Keegan Federal of Charlotte; Paris Hollis of Wichita Falls, TX; Enzo Cellucci of New York, NY; Gwyndolyn Jones of Simpsonville, SC; and Abby Jones of Monroe, NC. "Granddad" also loved Paris Hollis' wife Erin and their two children, Adalyn and Aiden. Howard flew the A-20 Havoc in WWII and retired from the Air Force with the rank of captain in 1947. Howard was an aviation cadet in December 1942 and received basic training in Miami Beach and CDT at Oshkosh, WI; Pre-flight at Santa Anna, CA; primary at Thunderbird Field, Phoenix, AZ; basic at Lemore, CA and advanced at LaJunta, CO. His was the first group to train in B-25 bombers and received his wings on April 13, 1944 while still 19 years old. He left Newport News, VA via ship and arrived in Naples, Italy in September 1944. He was assigned to flying night missions out of Roseginano and Grosetto, where they made a night crash landing on January 11, 1945. Howard was in various hospitals in Italy and the United States until he was discharged from Tilton General Hospital, Ft. Dix, NJ in October 1947. Howard was an initiate of Sigma Chi Fraternity and completed Gettysburg College in 1948. He joined Merrill Lynch until purchasing Southern Investment Company in 1967 and became a New York Stock Exchange member. In 1975 he joined George S. May Company as a management consultant until his retirement in 1989 to his waterfront home in Tega Cay, SC. Howard was a member of the Tega Cay Lions Club and the Fort Mill Rotary Club. He and wife Nancy loved to socialize and dance at the Tega Cay Vintage Club. Both were avid bridge players. He participated in long distance air races with his neighbor Jack Gwynne and when Howard was 77, both took a two-month trip to Alaska. Their experiences on this trip resulted in many speaking engagements. He also recorded his WWII memories of the A20 Havoc bomber with the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, NC. A Celebration of Life will be held for Howard and his wife Nancy on Saturday, April 2nd , 2016 at 2:00pm in the Tega Cay Phillip T. Glennon Community Center, 15083 Molokai Drive, Tega Cay, SC. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the Hearth Room. Online condolences may be made at: www.tributecremationsociety.com. 4/2/2016 02:00 PM Memorial Tega Cay Phillip T Glennon Community Ctr 15083 Molokai Drive Tega Cay SC 4/2/2016 02:30 PM 03:30 PM Visitation Tega Cay Phillip T Glennon Community Ctr 15083 Molkai Drive Tega Cay SC