Dr. Richard Jones was a good doctor, friend and family man
"He was kind and considerate and very strong," says colleague Dr. Randolph Clements. "He just didn't run out of fuel. He went out of his way to help people. He was a hell of a good doctor and a real good friend."
For more than three decades, Dr. Jones was a gastroenterologist at Virginia Mason Clinic, where he was chief of staff from 1976 to 1981 and president of the board of directors from 1986 to 1988. He also was a member of the highly regarded North Pacific Society of Internal Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Gastroenterology Association.
As testimony to his competence, the doctor's own colleagues and their families "flocked to him" for medical care, says Clements, who regarded his friend as the "best doctor" at Virginia Mason.
Another longtime colleague, Dr. Robert Nielsen, called Dr. Jones "a superb clinician" and "a marvelous human being" who never said an unkind word and was always open to new ideas.
Dr. Jones, a Windermere resident, died of leukemia at home Tuesday (Oct. 23) at age 78. A funeral Mass was held yesterday at St. Bridget Church in Seattle, where he was a member.
As a husband, "He was the best. He was so thoughtful," said Marice, his wife of 50 years. He was willing to compromise and though he had his opinions, wasn't dogmatic, she recalled.
His family and friends remember his dry humor: always quick, sometimes when least expected.
Once he and his wife attended a particularly gloomy play by Chekhov at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, where they were longtime patrons. Afterward, Dr. Jones expressed his disappointment with "Check off Chekhov."
As a father, Dr. Jones was a steady man who was always available and had the answers to any question, said his four children.
"My dad never said: I don't know. He was very well read," his son Rick, from Tiburon, Calif., said.
Though he wasn't given to sugary platitudes, his children had no doubt that his love was unconditional. "He was our rock. He was always there. He was our foundation," recalled his daughter Missie Chevigny.
Daughter Alison Aleinikoff developed a love of sports thanks to her dad. At the breakfast table, Dr. Jones would slide the sports page over to his daughter and they'd always watch Monday night football together.
Dr. Jones was a quiet, unassuming man who didn't talk about himself. But, "Whenever he said something, it was important," said daughter Deborah Jones.
After retiring in 1989, he worked part time for a few years at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He and Marice traveled widely and spent even more time at "The Farm," the family's summer place on Case Inlet. Dr. Jones also audited history classes at the University of Washington, taking the bus to campus. He was a twice-weekly bridge player and avid crossword-puzzle solver. Up until the last 10 years, he fished and hunted ducks.
Dr. Jones was born in Seattle, graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma and earned a medical degree from the University of Oregon. After World War II, he was a Navy flight surgeon for two years. Later, he received advanced medical training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where he and Marice met and married. In 1954, they moved to Seattle and he joined Virginia Mason.
Besides his wife and children, Dr. Jones is survived by 10 grandchildren, who called him "Papa."
The family suggests remembrances be made to the Virginia Mason Foundation, 1100 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101, or the Anne Donohoe Circle of the Association for Catholic Childhood, 100 23rd Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98144.