Fr. Ralph O. Jones
Fr. Ralph O. Jones, Priest-In-charge of Stella Maris Chapel, Lamar, Texas, passed away peacefully on February 13, 2018, after a courageous seven year battle with cancer. He was born August 8, 1934 in Portland, Oregon to Ralph and Julia Jones.
He attended Seattle University and graduated with a degree in Education. He then attended the University of Detroit receiving a Masters degree in Education, and returned to Seattle and received a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Washington. He spent the next thirty years as a teacher and social worker for the Kent School District. Concurrently he was a clinical social worker for the U.S. Army as a reservist retiring as a full Colonel. He also had a private Social Work practice.
After retiring he joined the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) and was ordained a priest on June 14, 2003, where he ministered to Native Americans in North Dakota before being assigned to Our Lady of Corpus Christi College. He joined the Diocese of Corpus Christi and was assigned to Stella Maris.
He is survived by a sister Joann Morrison and a brother Nova Jones and wife Judith and numerous nephews and nieces.
A Rosary will be recited at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at Our Lady of Corpus Christi Chapel in Corpus Christi, Texas with a Funeral Mass to follow at 2:00 p.m.
A Rosary will be recited at 10:30 a.m., Monday, February 26, 2018 at St. Philomena Catholic Church in Des Moines, Washington with a Funeral Mass to follow at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at the Washington Memorial Park Cemetery in SeaTac, Washington.
