John William Jones

J. William (Bill) Jones, a former journalist and public relations professional of Deep 

Creek in Port Charlotte, passed on January 3, 2025. He was 90 years old.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Bill retired and moved to Punta Gorda in 2003 after a distinguished career with newspapers in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, and as a community and corporate public relations professional in Philadelphia.

He served for many years as an NCAA college ice hockey referee in the Mid-Atlantic region of New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania as a member of the 'National Ice Hockey Officials Association, and for ten years he was a rules official for the Florida State Golf Association, working tournaments in Southwest Florida.

Bill and his twin sister, Barbara, were born in Brooklyn on June 2,1934 to William H. and Alice F. (Hart) Jones. He graduated from St. Augustine High School in Brooklyn in 1953, and attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1957 as a Dean's List English Major and editor of the student newspaper, the Villanovan.

He was hired by the New York Times as a copy boy and news desk assistant, moving on to Virginia to be a reporter for the Lynchburg News and then the Roanoke Times, before being hired by the Evening Bulletin in Philadelphia, where he covered the education beat. He won state press association news writing awards at all three newspapers.

An excellent golfer, Bill won club championships in New York and Pennsylvania and was a long-time member and board member at Saint Andrews South Golf Club in Punta Gorda. 

His public relations career began with the School District of Philadelphia in 1963, where he served as director of Media Relations and Public Affairs for 22 years, before joining the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) in 1987 as manager of Media Relations,

moving to PECO's parent Exelon Corporation in media relations, becoming its nuclear spokesman, with 11 nuclear generating stations in three states.

Bill was inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Association's Hall of Fame and was frequent lecturer for the National School Boards Association throughout the country.

In Punta Gorda, he spent ten years as a reporter covering the Charlotte and Punta Gorda symphony orchestras and Answer Man Columnist for the Charlotte Sun, until 2100. He met and exchanged commitment rings with his loving companion, Joanne Ryder in Deep Creek, before entering the Sandhill Gardens assisted living facility after injuries in a fall.

Bill was an officer and member of the executive board of the Royal Order of Ponce de Leon Conquistadors in Charlotte County and attended San Antonio Catholic Church.

He was married to Cynthia Vereen in King of Prussia, Pa., in 1960. She passed away in 1994. They had three children, Bill (William P.), Andrea (Cuizon) and Suzanne Kintzley, grandchildren Ben and Lauren Kintzley, niece Kathy (White) Murphy, nephews Tom and Billy White, and sister-in-law Suzi (Vereen) Gavasa, of Rileyville, Va. who survive him. A date and time for the memorial service will be announced in the near future.