Alice Bonner Jones, 100, died peacefully at her home in Melbourne, FL on October 21, 2020. She was born on July 14, 1920, in Stamford, CT, the eldest child and only daughter of Price D. Jones and Robert R. Rummler, and descendent of Daniel Boone.

Ms. Jones was raised in Norwalk, CT, and attended Marietta College in Ohio, where she received her bachelor's degree in Physical Education, after which she received her master's in Physics and Mathematics at Oregon State University.

Returning to Norwalk in 1946, she started her career in electrical engineering at Raytheon's Machlett Laboratories as a Quality Control Engineer. Throughout Ms. Jones' thirty-six-year tenure, she continued her professional development and became Foreman of Small Power Tubes, Exhausts & Testing, Production Engineer, and eventually retired as Safety Director, the first woman to have ever held such a title in the State of Connecticut.

In her youth, Ms. Jones excelled at numerous sports, but it was at the age of twelve that she began her life-long passion for the sport of tennis. She was introduced to it at The Shore & Country Club in Norwalk, where she won her first tournaments with her cousin Bill. Ambidextrous and known for a fierce backhand and competitive underhand serve, Ms. Jones notably competed in the International Tennis Federation Games in 1990, the 2002 Friendship Cup on behalf of the United States and was ranked as Number I in the State of Florida in 1980 and 1985 as a member of the Melbourne Chapter of the National Senior Women's Tennis.

Winning numerous awards and prizes in over eighty years of competition, the eleven USTA Category 1 Senior National Championships silver tennis balls were Ms. Jones' most treasured. Fashioned into a necklace, this signature piece of jewelry was not only a statement accomplishment but also a source of pride and motivation, seeking to attain that gold tennis ball.

After playing through several shoulder injuries and following multiple surgeries, it was only after a hip replacement in her mid-eighties did Ms. Jones retire her racquet.

An intrepid explorer, Ms. Jones hiked the Appalachian trail and crisscrossed the United States in her trademark Buick station wagon, finding time to fly-fish and hunt whenever and wherever possible. She also traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Americas, visiting over a dozen countries, with notable visits to the Galapagos Islands, Amsterdam, Great Britain, Germany, and New Zealand.

When relaxing in one place, Ms. Jones made a home in Norwalk, CT; Franklin, NC; but it was in Melbourne, FL, where she spent her Golden Years, remaining active in her community and celebrating one last award, the Platinum Century.

Ms. Jones is survived by her nephews and nieces, Robert P. Jones of Forest Hill, MD; Cheryl L. Lennon of West Milford, NJ; Elizabeth Johnson of Minneapolis, MN; George P. Jones of Eugene, OR; and T. Jeffrey Jones of Eugene, OR; as well as nine great-nieces and great-nephews and 11 great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews. Ms. Jones was preceded in death by her brothers, Thomas R. Jones of Roseburg, OR, and Phillip B. Jones of Forest Hill, MD.

There will be a private, family memorial at a future date and those wishing to contact the representatives for the Estate of Alice B. Jones may do so by contacting:

Davis Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory
550 Montreal Avenue
Melbourne, FL 32935
Telephone: 321-254-1532
davisseawinds.com/contact-us