Lowell Jones

Thomas “Lowell” Jones passed peacefully from this life to the next on August 27, 2022. 

 

Among the first of the Baby Boomers, Lowell was born to Thomas Hilton Jones and Betty Jo Jones (nee Allen) on January 1, 1946, in the small West Texas town of Ralls. He was the oldest of three children and lived in and around the Lubbock area well into adulthood. After graduating from Lubbock High School, Lowell worked his way through college at Texas Tech University, earning not only a degree in architecture, but also an undying and lifelong loyalty to the Red Raiders. Go Tech!

 

After graduating from college in 1970, Lowell started his architecture career with Kneer & Hamm in Fort Worth, Texas. He would then work for Komastu and Tom Brown Architects. He began his career doing “old-fashioned” drafting, using drawing boards, pencils, T-squares, set squares, and slide rules. In 1972, during his time in Fort Worth, he met Martha Anne Heaberlin, and true love was born. 

 

Martha (Marti) and Lowell were married on July 21, 1973, at North Fort Worth Baptist Church. Within 7 years, they moved to Dallas, added two sons to their family, and Lowell began working for Southwestern Bell Telephone, designing central offices (COs) for the telephone company. In 1984, Lowell was then given the opportunity to join a new cellular division of Southwestern Bell, called Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS), and shortly thereafter it became, Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems (SBMS). Lowell was witness to exponential growth in the exciting new technology of wireless communications. His responsibilities grew along the way with all sorts of design projects for the company, working on projects outside the building as well as inside, designing corporate office space at headquarters. The company would later become known as Cingular, and then eventually, AT&T. During his time in the cellular world, he managed the construction of cell phone towers and was instrumental in the development of cellular infrastructure throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and select areas across the country. Lowell had international opportunities along the way, turning them down, putting family first, and making friends all along the way.

 

In 1998, Lowell and Marti relocated with AT&T to Little Rock, Arkansas, constructing a house in Maumelle. It was here that they settled in for eventual retirement, with Lowell retiring, after almost 40 years of service to AT&T, in 2015. 

 

Lowell was an avid outdoorsman who loved to fish, hike, kayak, and work in the yard. Even in retirement, he put his architectural skills to work, creating beautiful landscaping around their home. He loved watching his Red Raiders and Dallas Cowboys and was always ready to talk football or basketball. These were things he took great pride in, but nothing made him more proud than his two sons and his nine grandchildren. He was youthful and energetic and goofy and playful, and to his grandchildren, he hung the moon. He was the kind of guy who would get down on the floor and play with the kids, chase them around the house, and hold them in his lap for hours at a time. He was the “baby whisperer,” and his arms were always open for snuggles. He was the traveler, taking Marti on trips around the world, and taking the grandkids to Disney, the beach, and the mountains; he always asked when he could see the kids again. 

 

He was a faithful man, a loving husband, a devoted father, and a playful and doting Granddaddy, sometimes pronounced as “Jimmy Daddy” by some of the grandkids. Above all, he loved our Lord Jesus to the last moment of his life. For his life, and for the legacy and the memories he leaves behind, we are all thankful. 

 

Lowell was preceded in death by his mother, Betty Jo Allen, and his father, Thomas Hilton Jones. He is survived by his wife Marti Jones of Maumelle, Arkansas, his son Brian Jones and Amanda of Urbandale, Iowa, his son Stephen Jones and Laura of Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as his brother Alton Jones and Darlene of Shallowater, Texas, and his sister Linda Gatlin of Belton, Texas. His grandchildren, Hayden Jones, Lucy Jones, Lydia Jones, Simon Jones, Leah Jones, Abigail Jones, Lily Jones, Elizabeth Jones, and Samuel Jones cherish his memory, as do his many nieces, nephews, great nieces, great-nephews, and cousins. 

 

A public visitation for Lowell will take place on Friday, September 2 from 9-10 AM at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, with a celebration of life service from 10-11 AM in the Chapel at Fellowship Bible Church located at 1401 Kirk Road, Little Rock, Arkansas. He will be buried at Riverwood Memorial Gardens in Maumelle, Arkansas at a private graveside service.