Ralph Jones was a take-charge kind of guy.
In the early 1960s, he moved to Peachtree City to run a plant that manufactured concrete panels for office buildings. He helped build a nondenominational church that would later become the 500-plus-member First Presbyterian Church. And he was among the founders of the city's Rotary Club.
So it was only natural for him to run for local office, becoming the second mayor of Peachtree City during its formative years as a planned community on the Southside.
"So much of life then was not so much as mayor but as a very important resident and leader," said Joel Cowan, a longtime friend and the first mayor of the city chartered in 1959. "Everybody was building the community. Whatever you did civically ... or as leader of the church, all of that just ran together."
During Mr. Jones' tenure from 1966-69, the city began offering fire services with a volunteer staff and a used truck bought for $4,376; established a police department with two sworn officers; and formed a Little League baseball program and the city's recreation committee.
Chip Conner, a city councilman during Mr. Jones' stint as mayor, said his friend of 50 years was the consummate delegator.
"He was take charge and delegate -- you do this, you do that and it got done," said Mr. Conner, who succeeded Mr. Jones as mayor.
Ralph Norman Jones, 80, of Peachtree City died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at the Southwest Christian Care hospice in Union City. His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Dec. 5 at the First Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City. Carl J. Mowell & Sons funeral home is in charge of arrangements.
Born and raised in Franklinville, N.C., Mr. Jones earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University in 1951. He then became a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served 15 months in the Korean War.
After his tour of duty, he worked for what was then Mabie-Bell in Greensboro for six years before moving to Peachtree City in 1961 to operate one of its first industrial plants.
Daughter Kris Milner said her father took "great pride in the area in which he took ownership."
As a child during his mayoral tenure, Mrs. Milner said she recalls law enforcement officials stopping by the house every night.
"All I kept thinking was, my dad must really be in trouble because the police kept showing up," she said with a laugh. "Of course, they were just checking in."
In his later years, Mr. Jones did a stint as executive vice president of the Atlanta Market Center before launching a Valvoline oil-change franchise. His youngest daughter, Karen Jones, worked with him for 21 years, up until his passing.
"He was a great boss, but there was no question of who was in charge," she quipped. "Not only would he tell me what to do, but in what order to do it. He was in charge up until the very end, but he would have it no other way and neither would we."
Son Norman Jones said his father was such an authority figure that "he's probably outside the gates telling St. Peter what to do."
Additional survivors include his wife of 57 years, Margaret "Brownie" Swann Jones of Peachtree City; sisters Sarah "Red" Hambleton of Ocala, Fla., and Gracie Allred of Asheboro, N.C.; six grandsons and one great-grandson.
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