Clarence William Jones, Jr.

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Clarence William (Bill) Jones, Jr. on May 3, 2026. Bill was born on September 4, 1938, in Troy, New York. He was the devoted husband for nearly 67 years of Gail and the proud father of Lonnie Pera and Andrew Jones. Bill and Gail raised their family in Cold Spring Harbor, New York before the couple moved to Easton, Maryland and then to Frisco, Texas.

Through his journey of 87 years, Bill loved to sing. He attended St. Thomas Choir School in New York and Friends Academy in Locust Valley, New York. Bill graduated with a BS degree in Business Management from Lehigh University.

Upon graduation in 1960, Bill held numerous positions in the New York Telephone Company, a subsidiary of AT&T. After the breakup of the Bell System in 1984, he became Managing Director of Corporate Planning for NYNEX Corporation, a position he held until his retirement in 1990.

In 1996, Bill stepped out of retirement to co-found the Association of BellTel Retirees, a not-for-profit trade association that actively protected retiree pension benefits. Bill served as President and Managing Director for 20 years, helping the Association grow to 134,000 members. At the time of his (second) retirement in 2015, he was awarded the lifetime title of Board Member Emeritus.

Bill had a gift of making people laugh; he also was quite active. Among other skills, he made furniture, re-built cars, and played golf, tennis, and platform tennis. He was proud to serve as President of the Long Island Platform Tennis Association and was on the board of the American Platform Tennis Association. In 1992, he organized and headed the American Platform Tennis Association National Championship in Huntington, New York.

Bill is survived by his wife Gail; daughter Lonnie and son-in-law Steven Pera; grandchildren Carley and Mark Pera, son Andrew and daughter-in-law Brenda Jones. He was preceded in death by his parents Leone and the Rev. Clarence William Jones, his sister Carolyn, and his brother-in-law the Rev. Herbert H. Beardsley.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, June 18, 2026, at Christ Church, Plano, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Christ Church or the Association of BellTel Retirees at: https://belltelretirees.org/