Harold Rollins Jones' Obituary
Harold Rollins Jones passed away peacefully on November 14, 2018, in San Mateo, CA. He was 88 years old.Harold was the son of Henry Rollins Jones and Mary Rea Jones, and was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.As a young man, Harold developed a love for electronics and radio broadcasting. He maintained his ham radio license for over 70 years. His call sign was W6ZVV. Harold also developed a love for nature and the outdoors when he was a member of a Los Angeles Boy Scout troop. Like his parents and grandparents, Harold always loved small animals, particularly cats of all colors, shapes and sizes.Harold enlisted in the United States Navy in December 1950 and served as a Seaman First Class, radio operations and repairs. His duty stations included the USS Juneau and the US Naval Station at Adak, AK. He was honorably discharged in September 1954.After separation from the Navy, Harold attended college in Los Angeles and U.C. Berkeley.Harold married Evelyn Asp on January 29, 1955. Together they had two sons, Stephen Jones and Stuart Jones. Harold and Evelyn were happily married for over 63 years.Harold worked his entire professional career in the electronics industry, specifically the vacuum tube divisions of Eimac, Inc., and Varian Associates. The products developed by Eimac and Varian were used in radios, televisions, medical research and radio/television broadcasting. Vacuum tube technology led to the development and evolution of transistors and later microchips used in today’s computer industry in Silicon Valley.In his spare time, Harold often volunteered at radio station KCSM located at the College of San Mateo, passing on his knowledge about radios and vacuum tube technology to the students, staff and station managers. In addition, Harold took courses at the CSM to stay current on changes in technology.After retiring from Varian Associates, Harold and Evelyn lived a quiet life in the hills above San Mateo. They enjoyed traveling to such points of interest as Scandinavia, Alaska, Yosemite, Santa Barbara, Sea Ranch and Monterey.During his retirement years, Harold developed a keen interest in genealogy. He took the photos and family history gathered by his parents and grandparents, and expanded the collection to include all of the branches of his family. This work required extensive correspondence to/from distant relatives and many trips to the branch office of the U.S. Archives and the Mormon library and archives in Salt Lake City, Utah.Harold is survived by his wife of 63 years Evelyn A. Jones, his son Stephen Jones, daughter in law Rhonda Rigenhagen, and son Stuart Jones.A private memorial with military honors will be held at Skylawn Memorial Park, San Mateo, CA.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Peninsula Humane Society or KCSM-FM Radio Station, in the name of Harold R. Jones.
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