Obituary of Roger Jones

A Funeral Service for Roger Jones, age 89, of Okoboji, Iowa, will be held at 11:30 am, Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake.  Visitation will begin at 10:30 am until service time.  Interment will be at Lakeview Gardens in Spirit Lake.

To watch the livestream of Roger's service, please click the following link for United Methosist Church's Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/SpiritLakeUnitedMethodistChurch.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the United Methodist Church: 1812 Gary Avenue in Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360.

Roger William Jones was born on February 26, 1934 in south Dickinson County, Iowa, the middle child of five to Glen and Flora (Kindlespire) Jones.  The family moved to a farm in rural Dickinson County in the Spring of 1936.

Roger started school in a country school before moving to Spirit Lake in the fifth grade later graduating from Spirit Lake High School in 1951. He worked on the family farm and Jeck's Motors before enlisting in the US Army in February of 1955. Roger was united in marriage to Peggy Joyce Smith, of Okoboji, on April 20, 1955 at the Spirit Lake United Methodist Church, while he was on leave from Basic Training. The couple first made their home at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Roger received an Honorable Discharge in February of 1957, and the couple moved to Okoboji.

Roger was employed at Consumers Lumber in Spirit Lake for thirteen years before taking a position at Morton Buildings in Spencer. He was a top salesman, and eventually sales-manager of the Spencer office for thirty-three years, winning many awards and company trips all over the world  for he and Peggy. Since retiring in 2003, Roger has missed the dear Morton friends he made over the many years and has kept in close contact with several of them.

Roger was a life long member of the United Methodist Church. He was an active member of the Spirit Lake Jaycees, serving as President for a year. His hobbies included golf, fishing in Canada, gardening, playing card games, especially Sequence, and visiting the time share in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, each of the last twenty years. Roger loved watching the Iowa Hawkeye basketball and football teams. He attended all of the Hawks home football games the last several years, including the Fall of 2022.

Roger passed away in Tempe, Arizona on March 18, 2023, at the age of eighty-nine, from complications of a terrible fall on February 14th, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife of almost sixty-eight years, Peggy; four lovely daughters: Cindra Klein (Steve) of Forest Grove, Oregon; Rhonda Fisk (Doug) of Phoenix, Arizona; Lisa Reeder (Chad) of Kimberly, Idaho; and Teresa Gehrels of Des Moines, Iowa;  grandchildren: Katie Evans (Cole), Ashley Nilles (Allan), Patrick Fisk (Amy), Dusty Klein, Benjamin Fisk (fiancée, Kim Hong), Brody McClain (Georginne), Tyler Gehrels, Kayley Gehrels; step-grandchildren: Brad Reeder (Jen), Tyler Reeder (Amanda), and Maycee Reeder; seven great-grandchildren and four step great-grandchildren; brothers: Marvin Jones (Cynthia) of Tempe, Arizona; Victor Jones (Sandy) of Tempe, Arizona; Shelby Jones of Des Moines, Iowa; brother-in-law, Pierre Smith (Sharon) of Tulsa, Oklahoma; sisters-in-law, Pam Cooney (fiancé, Steve Kline) of Sun Lakes, Arizona, and Susan Smith of Surprise, Arizona; several nieces, nephews, and dear, dear friends.

Roger was preceded in death by his parents, Glen and Flora Jones; in-laws, Byron and Stella Smith; sister, Charlotte Tilton; brothers-in-law: Warren Tilton, Preston Smith, and Perry Smith; and sister-in-law, Mary Smith.