Ralph H. Jones

Ralph Howard Jones Director of Public Relations, Westfield Historian Ralph Howard Jones, 78, of Stewartsville, NJ, formerly of Westfield, died Sunday March 13, 2011. Funeral services will be 1:00 PM Saturday March 19, 2011 in The Presbyterian Church, 140 Mountain Avenue Westfield. Private interment will follow later in the Revolutionary War Cemetery, Westfield. Arrangements by Gray Funeral Directors, Westfield. Born 9/6/32 to Frederick E. Jones and Helen Edmands Jones in Plainfield, NJ., Ralph attended Westfield schools including Lincoln School, Roosevelt Jr. High School and Westfield High School, graduating in 1950, w here he was a member of the National Honor Society, co-editor of the Hi's Eye, treasurer of his class track team and played on the B squad football team. Upon graduation, Ralph entered Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA where he joined the ATO fraternity and was on the track team. He transferred to Indiana University and graduated with an AB degree in history, government and economics in 1958, after joining the Air Force in 1952, where he completed aircraft observer school as a radar bombardier and eventually become a 2nd lieutenant during the latter part of the Korean War. In 1958, Ralph became a reporter with the Courier News in Plainfield. In 1961, he worked as a public relations specialist for various political candidates, as well as a consultant in the water utility industry. In Aug. 1963, he married Westfield native, the former Carol Kookogey, and they purchased their first house in Fanwood, NJ. A few years later, they moved to Westfield where they raised their three children and lived for 27 years. Ralph could always be found jogging or running miles at a time through various towns. He entered many charitable 5K races and even ran a half marathon in Philadelphia. His love of history, especially local history, was quite evident, even while on family vacations. He almost always found the local library and cemetery of a vacation spot to research that particular town. His youngest daughter, Cathy, at age 5, recalls riding around in the car with her Dad while he surveyed various architectural styles in homes and then was able to recite the various roof and home styles. Ralph's extensive career includes Director of the Dept. of Public Information and Press Relations at the NY Stock Exchange; The Chicago firm of Beveridge, Inc., New York, NY; the Investment Bankers' Assoc. in Washington, DC.; and Carl Byoir Assoc in NYC. In 1974, Ralph became Public Relations Director for Millicent Fenwick, helping her run successfully for Congress in NJ's 5th district. He then joined the Home Ins. Co. as Associate Director of Public Relations, and later became a vice president with Howard Ruberstein, Assoc. In 1981, Ralph joined the Squibb Corporation's in Princeton, NJ as Director of Corporate Relations, where he was a member of the American Medical Writers Association. Following his retirement, he started up a consulting business and continued with this until the mid 1990's. Ralph was active in many Westfield community activities including the Y's Men's Club, and the Westfield Historical Society. His love of Westfield and its history was the instigation in 1987 to write weekly columns for the Westfield Leader about Westfield history. These popular columns lasted until 1991. He served as President of the Y's Men's Club; President, Trustee and honored a Lifetime Trustee of the Westfield Historical Society; member of the Westfield Historic Review Commission; Chairman of the Historic Preservation Committee, which he helped to form; and a member of the YMCA Board of Directors. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Westfield where he served as a deacon. Ralph served on the Board of Preservation, N.J. and was a N.J. Indiana University Alumni Club president. Among his many accomplishments was writing and producing, "Our Towne", a revue for the 1994 Bicentennial, complete with a cast of players and crew, performing at Roosevelt Jr. High School to sold out audiences; he also wrote and produced the revue "Meet Me Down at Frutchey's: Westfield in the Jazz Age"; "Westfield in the 1920's", "Westfield Comes of Age", and "if Houses could Talk". While in Westfield, he was a frequent lecturer of local history. Ralph received the President's Award and Trustees Award from the Westfield Historical Society. He also received the Community Service Award from Chamber of Commerce of Westfield. In the late 1980's, he was appointed official Westfield Historian by then Mayor Ron Frigerio. In 1993, Ralph accepted the job of Curator of the Historical Society's archival collection. In 1994, Ralph was the first non-school official to deliver the Westfield High School commencement address to the WHS Class of 1994. He received the Faith in Westfield Certification from the Chamber of Commerce. He was honored for outstanding leadership in historical preservation by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, given by the Union County Advisory Board and Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs. In his later years, next to his wife, daughters and grandchildren whom he loved so much, Ralph's biggest passion, dedication and love was volunteering and working at the Archives and Museum of the Westfield Historical Society. He spent many tireless hours organizing and cataloging the many thousands of artifacts and papers which continually come into the building. He frequently gave tours of the Museum to school children. His phone was always ringing with inquiries from people wanting to know more about the history of their Westfield home or acquisition. He was a walking encyclopedia of info, and if he didn't know the answer, he would look it up in the Archives. Ralph is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Carol (Kookogey), and very special daughters, Cynthia Gaffney and Catherine Marder. He was predeceased by his son, Christopher and a brother, Frank. He was "Grampy/Poppy" to four grandchildren, Charlotte Clarke, Christie Clarke, Caleigh Gaffney and Sam Marder; brothers Robert Jones (Gail) and Frederick Jones, both of Port St. Lucie, Fla, and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, contributions are welcomed to either the Reeve History, Cultural and Resource Center, P.O. Box 613, Westfield, NJ 07091-0613, or to the Alzheimer's Assoc., 400 Morris Ave., Suite 251, Denville, NJ 07834.