Michael Ray Jones, 71, of Leawood, Kansas passed December 31, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri in the loving presence of his daughter Becky & brother Jerry.
Mike was born July 2, 1949 in Kansas City, Missouri to Dan and Mable (Grunden) Jones.
As a boy, growing up on Fisher street in the 1950’s with his many siblings, nightly, Mike would listen to his ham radio with voices speaking from afar. While it played, he would peer out of his window at the glowing power and light building that dominated the Kansas City skyline, wondering what adventures awaited him in the big world out there.
This curiosity fueled Mike’s infectious zeal for life. His sense of adventure, love of the outdoors and travel led to many treasured family trips. He had a great sense of humor and a heartwarming belly laugh. He had a voice fit for radio and was an engaging story teller. On weekends, you could find him driving his Model T Ford around town, occasionally pulling the ring-on-a-string making the horn go “aaaroooogaah”. His love for his family was immense and he shared it abundantly with light in his eyes and kindness in his heart.
As he grew up, Mike spent time as a dedicated Eagle Scout and completed his training at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He was talented at building bicycles from old parts he found, loved fireworks and the Fourth of July. He idolized his older brother, Dennis, and enjoyed mischievous fun with his other brothers, like riding 150cc motorcycles through corn fields, and he was sweet to his sisters.
In college, he studied Advertising and Geology at the University of Kansas while working full-time at a local grocery store to pay his tuition. In his spare time, he worked at the University radio station as an on-air DJ. He also enjoyed spending time at Wade’s restaurant where he met the future mother of his children. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts from KU in 1973.
As a family man, he was dedicated, loving, and selfless. He knew that true experiences meant sharing them with others and he did so with extended family and friends alike. He learned woodworking from his father and helped build a deck for his sister Jean, a custom clubhouse in his backyard for his kids, and a teeter-totter to boot. He procured one of the first commercial video cameras in 1981 and captured endless home videos of his home life and kids. While doing so, he held what looked like a studio-sized camera on one shoulder with a VCR-like contraption on the other. He was charitable and lent it to community members such as SMNW high school sports teams. He was an avid numismatist, and traded in his silver dollar coin collection to buy that Model T Ford from the actress that played Ellie May on the Beverly Hillbillies, the license plate read “COINS” . He picked up his kids from school in it and took folks on spins around the neighborhood. He was always game for combined family trips with his siblings and their families. One of his favorite activities was searching with family for arrowheads and other Native American relics that washed up on the shore of his property at Table Rock Lake. He loved big family get-togethers on Sundays filled with laughter and card games like 31.
At the dinner table, he always served his wife and kids before serving himself and often prepared a dinner fit for a foodie. He constantly did things to bring his kids joy. Taking them out water skiing in his boat and Worlds of Fun visits were tradition. He once brought home a 7 foot mascot-grade teenage mutant ninja turtle costume (when they were all-the-rage), paraded around the neighborhood, and had kids running out of their front doors to meet “Michael”angelo. There was the time he went to “go see a man about a horse” and brought home a shiny corvette go-cart that brought years of thrilling races through the high school parking lot. He also taught his children to dream by talking with them about the next adventure and he followed up on these dreams by taking family vacations every chance he could. Whether it was a National Park, theme park, natural wonder, historical site, ocean, beach, city, or mountain, he intended for them to see and experience the world beyond their own backyard. He spent dedicated time with his kids with activities they loved, like Saturday early morning cartoons and donuts with Becky, talking about music with Stacey and cheering her on for her cello recitals and symphony performances, and numerous crack-of-dawn fishing adventures to the farm with Scott. Through all the fun, Mike was ever-dependable, dedicated, and constantly told his kids that he loved them.
In his career he was also dedicated, spending its entirety helping revolutionize the grocery business. Over the years, his career moved he and his family further and further down I-35 from Kansas, to Oklahoma, and eventually to Texas. During which time, he worked with people from all over the world to bring gourmet and unique foods to grocery stores around the country. He visited many places to taste the foods brought in to grocery stores such as olive orchards in Chile, tequila factories in Mexico, barbecue sauce joints in Austin, shore-side crab feasts in San Francisco, and famous Italian eateries in NYC. For decades, he ran and participated in food shows, allowing his family to participate, rubbing elbows with famous chefs, dining with Food Network Stars, and big wigs in the biz.
In Mike’s golden years, he enjoyed the freedom of retirement. He had many laughs with his companion, Brenda and doted on his 3 beautiful grandchildren. He kept up his tradition of travel and visited many more National Parks. He made many visits to see his kids, his daughter Stacey while she lived in NYC and Dallas, his son Scott and family in Salt Lake City, and he had a constant friend in his daughter Becky who lived in Kansas City.
At KU Medical Center, situated blocks from Fisher street, he recounted the stories of his many adventures in disbelief that he was now a self-professed old man. He was grateful for his life and where his passions had led him. One of the last things he said before passing was, “We couldn’t have done it any better.”
To Mike, who warmly said to his children when they were little, each night before bed, we echo back to you now, “Sweet dreams, god bless you, and I love you.” We will see you again soon on heaven’s highway.
Michael is survived by his daughters Stacey & Becky, his son Scott & wife Sierra, and grandchildren, Odessa, Hazel, and Milo. He was Preceded in death by his maternal grandparents George J. Grunden & Catherine (Lusk) Grunden; paternal grandparents Dennis W. Jones & Lucy Ray Jones; Daniel Ray Jones and Mabel (Grunden) Jones; and siblings Patricia (Markley) Schleicher, Jack Markley, Joe Markley, Jim Markley, Dennis Jones and Jeaneane (Jones) Raab.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. July, 3rd, 2021 at the Amos Family Funeral Home in Shawnee, Kansas.
There is a reception following Michael’s service at Shawnee Mission Park shelter number 8.
Memorial Service
Start Date: July 3, 2021, 10:00 am
End Date: July 3, 2021, 12:00 am
Amos Family Funeral Home
10901 Johnson Dr.
Shawnee, KS 66203
Phone: 913-631-5566
Mike was born July 2, 1949 in Kansas City, Missouri to Dan and Mable (Grunden) Jones.
As a boy, growing up on Fisher street in the 1950’s with his many siblings, nightly, Mike would listen to his ham radio with voices speaking from afar. While it played, he would peer out of his window at the glowing power and light building that dominated the Kansas City skyline, wondering what adventures awaited him in the big world out there.
This curiosity fueled Mike’s infectious zeal for life. His sense of adventure, love of the outdoors and travel led to many treasured family trips. He had a great sense of humor and a heartwarming belly laugh. He had a voice fit for radio and was an engaging story teller. On weekends, you could find him driving his Model T Ford around town, occasionally pulling the ring-on-a-string making the horn go “aaaroooogaah”. His love for his family was immense and he shared it abundantly with light in his eyes and kindness in his heart.
As he grew up, Mike spent time as a dedicated Eagle Scout and completed his training at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He was talented at building bicycles from old parts he found, loved fireworks and the Fourth of July. He idolized his older brother, Dennis, and enjoyed mischievous fun with his other brothers, like riding 150cc motorcycles through corn fields, and he was sweet to his sisters.
In college, he studied Advertising and Geology at the University of Kansas while working full-time at a local grocery store to pay his tuition. In his spare time, he worked at the University radio station as an on-air DJ. He also enjoyed spending time at Wade’s restaurant where he met the future mother of his children. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts from KU in 1973.
As a family man, he was dedicated, loving, and selfless. He knew that true experiences meant sharing them with others and he did so with extended family and friends alike. He learned woodworking from his father and helped build a deck for his sister Jean, a custom clubhouse in his backyard for his kids, and a teeter-totter to boot. He procured one of the first commercial video cameras in 1981 and captured endless home videos of his home life and kids. While doing so, he held what looked like a studio-sized camera on one shoulder with a VCR-like contraption on the other. He was charitable and lent it to community members such as SMNW high school sports teams. He was an avid numismatist, and traded in his silver dollar coin collection to buy that Model T Ford from the actress that played Ellie May on the Beverly Hillbillies, the license plate read “COINS” . He picked up his kids from school in it and took folks on spins around the neighborhood. He was always game for combined family trips with his siblings and their families. One of his favorite activities was searching with family for arrowheads and other Native American relics that washed up on the shore of his property at Table Rock Lake. He loved big family get-togethers on Sundays filled with laughter and card games like 31.
At the dinner table, he always served his wife and kids before serving himself and often prepared a dinner fit for a foodie. He constantly did things to bring his kids joy. Taking them out water skiing in his boat and Worlds of Fun visits were tradition. He once brought home a 7 foot mascot-grade teenage mutant ninja turtle costume (when they were all-the-rage), paraded around the neighborhood, and had kids running out of their front doors to meet “Michael”angelo. There was the time he went to “go see a man about a horse” and brought home a shiny corvette go-cart that brought years of thrilling races through the high school parking lot. He also taught his children to dream by talking with them about the next adventure and he followed up on these dreams by taking family vacations every chance he could. Whether it was a National Park, theme park, natural wonder, historical site, ocean, beach, city, or mountain, he intended for them to see and experience the world beyond their own backyard. He spent dedicated time with his kids with activities they loved, like Saturday early morning cartoons and donuts with Becky, talking about music with Stacey and cheering her on for her cello recitals and symphony performances, and numerous crack-of-dawn fishing adventures to the farm with Scott. Through all the fun, Mike was ever-dependable, dedicated, and constantly told his kids that he loved them.
In his career he was also dedicated, spending its entirety helping revolutionize the grocery business. Over the years, his career moved he and his family further and further down I-35 from Kansas, to Oklahoma, and eventually to Texas. During which time, he worked with people from all over the world to bring gourmet and unique foods to grocery stores around the country. He visited many places to taste the foods brought in to grocery stores such as olive orchards in Chile, tequila factories in Mexico, barbecue sauce joints in Austin, shore-side crab feasts in San Francisco, and famous Italian eateries in NYC. For decades, he ran and participated in food shows, allowing his family to participate, rubbing elbows with famous chefs, dining with Food Network Stars, and big wigs in the biz.
In Mike’s golden years, he enjoyed the freedom of retirement. He had many laughs with his companion, Brenda and doted on his 3 beautiful grandchildren. He kept up his tradition of travel and visited many more National Parks. He made many visits to see his kids, his daughter Stacey while she lived in NYC and Dallas, his son Scott and family in Salt Lake City, and he had a constant friend in his daughter Becky who lived in Kansas City.
At KU Medical Center, situated blocks from Fisher street, he recounted the stories of his many adventures in disbelief that he was now a self-professed old man. He was grateful for his life and where his passions had led him. One of the last things he said before passing was, “We couldn’t have done it any better.”
To Mike, who warmly said to his children when they were little, each night before bed, we echo back to you now, “Sweet dreams, god bless you, and I love you.” We will see you again soon on heaven’s highway.
Michael is survived by his daughters Stacey & Becky, his son Scott & wife Sierra, and grandchildren, Odessa, Hazel, and Milo. He was Preceded in death by his maternal grandparents George J. Grunden & Catherine (Lusk) Grunden; paternal grandparents Dennis W. Jones & Lucy Ray Jones; Daniel Ray Jones and Mabel (Grunden) Jones; and siblings Patricia (Markley) Schleicher, Jack Markley, Joe Markley, Jim Markley, Dennis Jones and Jeaneane (Jones) Raab.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. July, 3rd, 2021 at the Amos Family Funeral Home in Shawnee, Kansas.
There is a reception following Michael’s service at Shawnee Mission Park shelter number 8.
Events
Memorial Service
Start Date: July 3, 2021, 10:00 am
End Date: July 3, 2021, 12:00 am
Amos Family Funeral Home
10901 Johnson Dr.
Shawnee, KS 66203
Phone: 913-631-5566
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