William H. Jones, Jr.
William Henry Jones, Jr., known as Bill Jones (December 31, 1924 - January 24, 2012), was an educator, businessman, rodeo rider, sheepherder, hunting guide, western freelance writer, and former prisoner of war, originally from Buffalo in Johnson County in northeastern Wyoming.[1]
Jones was born in Buffalo, known in history as the site of the 1890 Johnson County Range War, to William Jones, Sr., and the former Esther Brock. Upon his graduation from Buffalo High School, he enlisted during World War II in the United States Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the United States Air Force. He flew twenty-seven missions over Europe in a B-24. Captured by German forces, Jones was held at Stalag Luft 4 until his discharge in 1945 at the age of twenty-one. He was thereafter a member of the American Legion.[1]
Jones completed his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wyoming at Laramie, where he was active in the UW Rodeo Association. He was thereafter the Johnson County school superintendent. His articles on the American West were published in the Denver Post, the Casper Star-Tribune in Casper, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne, Western Horseman, and Old West Magazine. He was a founding member of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, an association named for the outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and dedicated to Old West history and the preservation of the cowboy way of living. The organization is based in Denver, Colorado.[1]
Jones was twice married, first from 1948 to 1971, to the former Frances Stuckert. They had a son, William David Jones of Colville, Washington, and three daughters, Kristine Jones and Leigh Jones Roach, both of Chicago, and Tracy Jones of Santa Barbara, California. Nine years after his divorce, Jones married the former Ella Racine of Cheyenne, his wife of more than thirty years, who survives him. In addition to his children, his other survivors included three grandchildren, two step-daughters, and a stepson.[1]
Jones died at the age of eighty-seven at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cheyenne. A memorial service was held in Cheyenne at Wiederspahn-Radomsky Chapel, with the Rev. Robert Garrard officiating. Jones was cremated. His family suggested memorials to the Jim Gatchell Museum in Buffalo or Hoofprints of the Past Museum in Kaycee, Wyoming.[1]