Leland B. Jones

passed away July 29, 2010 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. He was 96.Lee was born October 17, 1913 in Montana to Frederick Roy Jones of Missouri and Ora Mae Alexander Jones of Kansas. He grew up on a 160-acre homestead in the Bridger Range of the Rocky Mountains near Bozeman, Montana with his parents, sister Lucille, and brother Chester. He had fond memories of hiking up to Fairy Lake with his parents. The family moved to the state of Washington when Lee was six and settled in Grandview, later moving to Arlington and Everett. Lee married Phyllis Irene Marshall of Arlington in 1938. He and Phyllis opened a photography studio in Annacortes after they were married. Lee loved photography and took wonderful photos throughout his life. Lee and Phyllis enjoyed many years together, raising their three children while living in Seattle; Vancouver, Washington; Walla Walla; Anchorage; Kailua, Hawaii; and Bainbridge Island. Phyllis passed away in 1991 after 52 years of marriage. After Phyllis passed away, Lee married longtime family friend Betty Campbell of Walla Walla. Lee and Betty enjoyed going on cruises together and activities at the Poulsbo Yacht Club. They lived together at their home on Manitou Beach for 19 wonderful years. Lee attended WSC (now WSU) and the University of Washington, studying Civil Engineering. He had to drop out a few credits short of a degree, due to hard economic times. Later, while working for the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lee completed the Soil Mechanics Studies course at MIT, a 6-week accelerated graduate level course. In 1988, WSU awarded him with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, due to his expertise and reputation in his field.He loved his Civil Engineering work. He worked for the Washington State Department of Highways for two years; for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 28 years, serving in the Seattle, Walla Walla, Buffalo, Alaska, and Okinawa Districts and in the Pacific Ocean Division at Honolulu; and, beginning in 1970, for Shannon & Wilson Inc, a Seattle geotechnical and environmental engineering firm where he worked for most of the rest of his life. His projects included Mud Mountain Dam at Enumclaw, WA; 29 airfields in Washington and Montana during WWII; design duties on the St. Lawrence Seaway project; the design and construction of many dams on the Columbia, Snake, and North Fork Clearwater Rivers, including McNary, Chief Joseph, John Day, Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Granite, and Dworshak Dams; the stabilization of slide areas in Alaska after the 1964 Alaska earthquake; many engineering projects in Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Pacific Islands. In later years, he especially enjoyed his engineering projects in Chile, Peru, and Puerto Rico and the many interesting people he met there. He was a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers. His professional associations also included the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.Lee was known for his positive attitude and also for his humor, especially puns, sometimes to the consternation of his family. Lee's passion was boating. He built an inboard boat in the early 1960s at his home in Walla Walla. He and his family would trailer the boat from Walla Walla to Anacortes to launch, with the destination of Eliza Island, near Bellingham. While living in Hawaii, Lee and his son Alan built a sailing dingy that they sailed on Kaelepulu Lake, near their home. Their cat, Sinbad, would sit on the prow of the boat while they were sailing. In the early 1980s, Lee did much of the finish work on his 35 foot cutter, Sanderling, and enjoyed many years of sailing in Puget Sound and in Canadian waters with both Phyllis and Betty. He was an active member of the Power Squadron, teaching classes in his home. In his later years, Lee discovered computers, enjoying writing emails, surfing the Internet, and, especially, writing his life story. Lee was preceded in death by his first wife Phyllis Jones, his sister Lucille Jones, his brother Chester Jones, his parents, his son Stephen Jones, and his grandson Kelly Jones. He is survived by his wife Betty Jones of Bainbridge Island; daughter Marcia Washburn (Alfred) of Bainbridge Island; son Alan Jones (Teri Copley) of Bainbridge Island; granddaughters Ellen Fluharty of Seattle and Amanda Mills (Jason) of Martinsburg, WV; great grandchildren Laurel Fluharty of Wellsburg, WV; Jessica Mills, Aidan Mills, Peter Mills, Lily Mills, Patrick Mills, Theresa Mills, all of Martinsburg, WV; brother-in-law Robert Marshall (Lee) of Hemet, CA; stepsons Jeff Campbell of Jackson, CA; John Campbell of San Antonio, TX; Tim Campbell of Auburn, WA; and many, many friends.We will miss him dearly.Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend the Memorial Service on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 2:00 PM at The Poulsbo Yacht Club in Poulsbo, WA. Lee will be buried next to his first wife, Phyllis, at Kane Cemetery on Bainbridge Island.