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STERLING HEIGHTS — When Jack Jones graduated from high school in 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy to serve in World War II. His wife, Vera Rhodes, worked as a riveter for Briggs Corp.
“She was a riveter for Briggs Corporation, which at that time made car bodies, but they switched during the war,” said his son, Alan Jones. “We always joked that her middle name was Rosie.”
He served for three and a half years and spent 18 months serving as a dental technician aboard the U.S.S. Meriwether at its commissioning.
The first time he heard gunfire was while the ship was delivering troops to Okinawa. He also sailed into Pearl Harbor after the attack, and his ship delivered troops to Nagasaki after an atomic bomb was dropped there.
After the war, he returned to work at Burroughs in Detroit.
“I just went on back to work I guess,” he said.
Although he had aspirations of becoming a dentist, his wife was in a tuberculosis hospital in Detroit.
He continued working at Burroughs for 41 years, moving up through the ranks to eventually become management. The company sent Jack Jones and his wife to Guadalajara, Mexico, to open a new plant.
They would live there for two years.
“They had a maid down there, and I said to her, ‘How are my parents doing with learning Spanish?’” Alan Jones said. “She said, ‘Well, your mom knows a lot of words. Your dad knows the right words.’”
In 1970, Jack Jones moved back to Redford Township. After living there for 20 years, they would move again to Florida but would come back to live in Sterling Heights in 2013.
His wife died about six years ago.
Now, at 104 years old, he was asked to serve as the grand marshal in this year’s Memorial Day parade.
“It was a big surprise to me, and I feel very honored,” Jack Jones said.
Melanie Davis, community relations director for the city of Sterling Heights, said Jones was recommended by a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6250.
“I would say he was chosen because he is a resident of Sterling Heights who served proudly in World War II and is also a centenarian,” she said.
Jack Jones attributes his long life to two things, according to his son Alan Jones.
“One, he rambles on about eating healthy and exercising, yada yada yada,” Alan Jones said. “The other is, don’t die.”
This year’s parade included more than 60 parade entries, according to a press release from the city. There was also a flyover by historic Tuskegee Airmen World War II aircraft before the parade.
