Obituary of Clay Jones

Clay Garlen Jones was born April 21, 1955 in Odessa, Texas to Richard and Ann Jones. His childhood was spent in Texas and Venezuela- near the town of Caracas, in a community in the  jungle where his father worked in the oil industry. He also lived in Liberal and Overland Park, Kansas. In his childhood, Clay loved building model planes and suspending them from his bedroom ceiling. He was always interested in flight, outer space, science fiction and history. He worked summers as a lifeguard at a city pool and had many stories to tell about that experience.

Clay graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in electrical engineering. He co-oped 2 semesters at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He remained a huge fan of Kansas State football and basketball, and attended several of their Fiesta Bowl games.

In 1979, Clay moved to Arizona to begin a career with Motorola. He attended Grace Community Church and small group Bible study. There he met Lynette Rongstad. They were married on June 5, 1982. They had two children, Erika and Kylor.

Clay was a lifelong runner- from fun runs with the kids at school, to completing 10 marathons. The family sat and waited for him to go by at mile 20, while eating Dunkin Donuts (no one else got the running gene). He loved snow skiing in Arizona, Colorado and Utah with his family. He enjoyed road trips to Colorado, Minnesota, national parks, and a cross country drive with Erika to start a new job. Church and small group Bible study continued to be a constant part of life.

Clay worked for Motorola, Boeing and Iridium. The bulk of his career he worked on the Iridium Communication Satellite System, from its early development. The system is a network of 66 satellites that provide voice and data communication to satellite phones and other devices all over the globe. The satellites are in low earth orbit and are cross linked to each other to create a network in space. The next generation of satellites is currently in place today.

Clay Jones passed away May 14, 2023 at age 68. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Lynette, daughter Erika (Mario) Carbajal, son Kylor Jones, grandson Julian Carbajal, sister Lynn Kinsman, and brother Ronald Jones. He is preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Ann Jones, and sister Kaye Margaret Jones.

The steps on a man are established by the Lord; And he delights in his way.  Psalms 37:23