Richard Allen Jones, age 82, of Hermitage, TN, passed away on August 23, 2024.
Richard was born August 15, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan and was the son of the late Ben and Elise Slate Jones.
The family was in Detroit temporarily to help with the war efforts. They moved to Franklin, Kentucky where Richard was raised on a dairy farm. After graduating high school, Richard joined the U.S. Air Force. Upon finishing basic training, Richard was sent to Minot, North Dakota where he met the love of his life, Shirley Wolf Jones.
When his military service ended, Richard and Shirley moved to the Nashville area where Richard used the skills, he had learned in the military to open a heating and air business. However, Richard’s true passion was turning antique cars into Street Rods. He turned this hobby into a career, and in his opinion, a dream job. Richard won numerous awards locally, regionally and nationally. He took great pride in getting all his projects by word of mouth and never needing to advertise. “I build Road Kings not, trailer Queens”, he would joke when others trailered their cars to an event instead of driving them.
In 45 years, he built 135 cars and had been restoring a 1929 Ford Model AA truck with Cory until Shirley’s unexpected passing last summer. Richard and Shirley celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 2, 2023. When Shirley passed away the following July, Richard was never the same. She was his everything. When she passed, with her, she took his heart which he claimed she had stolen the first time he saw her smile. Our family is comforted in knowing that we have been reunited at last.
In addition to his parents and his wife, Richard was preceded in death by his sister, Betty Jones Gentry; nieces, Betsy Gentry Wynn and Tiffany Jones; nephew, Troy Jones as well as many dear friends.
Richard is survived by:
Son – Cory (Beth) Jones
Brothers – Pat (Linda Chaney) Jones and Mark (Patty) Jones
Sisters-in-law – LaRue (Don) Reherg and Dorothy Harman
Several nieces and nephews
Visitation will be 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at Bond Memorial Chapel with the funeral to follow at 1 p.m. Entombment will follow at Hermitage Memorial Gardens.
Arrangements by Bond Memorial Chapel, 1098 Weston Drive, Mt. Juliet, TN. (615) 773-2663, www.bondmemorial.com
For more obituaries visit https://davidsoncountysource.com/obituaries/
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