William “Bill” E. Jones, 88, of Onalaska, passed away Thursday, June 28, 2012 at Bethany Riverside Nursing Facility with his wife of 62 years, Donna, by his side.

Bill was born, April 11, 1924, in LaCrosse, WI, the oldest son of Dr. Walter and Leona Jones.  He graduated from Central High School in 1942.  After military service in WWII, he graduated from Northwestern University and later obtained his MBA from Utah State University.

Bill married Donna Huber on March 31, 1951.  Together they raised five children and have thirteen grandchildren, whom he always called the pride and joy of his life.

In 1962, Bill and Donna moved to Brigham City, UT, where they lived, raised their children and had wonderful friends for 40 years.  In 2002, they moved back to the LaCrosse area to be close to their families.

Bill was an honest and giving man who was a true believer in giving back to his community.  He was active in many civic duties, including working with the Red Cross, YMCA, Chamber of Commerce, SCORE and the Jaycees, receiving the Distinguished Service Man of the Year award in LaCrosse in 1958, and more recently was extremely active and passionate about raising awareness of lung cancer by working with Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center.

Bill’s career took him from LaCrosse, where he worked for The Electric Auto-Lite Plant, to Indianapolis and then to Utah, where he retired from the Morton Thiokol Co. in 1989, after serving in management for 28 years.

He was a wonderfully kind and loving husband and father; cheerful and always positive even through numerous bouts of life threatening illnesses and surgeries over the last 12 years.

He loved to travel and learn about new places.  He and Donna traveled the world together and visited all 50 states, most in their motor home.  He loved to read and write, to sail with his family, dance with his wife and daughters, listen to ABBA and brag about his children and grandchildren to anyone who was willing to listen.

He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his wife, Donna; children, David (Tammy) Jones of Rhoadesville, VA, Chris (Max) Delaunay of Montclair, NJ, Cathy (Jim) Sawaya of LaCrosse, WI, Jeff (Ginger) Jones of Appleton, WI and Jenny (Allen) Kroll of Mercer, PA; his grandchildren, Braden, Eric, Adam, Todd, Shaun, Alex, Christophe, James, Michelle, Tristan, Maureen, Nathan and Zachary.  He is also survived by his brother Edward (Carol) Jones of LaCrosse, WI, his nephews, Tom (Bridget) Jones, Steve (Claire) Jones, his niece, Meg Jones and his sister-in-law, JoAnn, wife of his late brother, John Jones of Turtle Lake, WI.

A celebration of life service will be held on Friday, July 6, 2012 at 11:00 am at North Presbyterian Church, 1327 N. Salem  Rd., La Crosse  The Rev. Louis Stoker will officiate.  A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.  Please join the family in sharing your memories and stories.

Bill requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lung Cancer Research Program at Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center.