David Taylor Jones 1941 – 2019 RIP

JONES David Taylor Jones, 77, of Arlington, VA, passed away on August 6, 2019 in Philadelphia, surrounded by his wife and daughters.
Mr. Jones was born in Scranton, PA to William Taylor Jones and Martha Evans Jones on December 22, 1941. He left Scranton to matriculate at the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a Bachelor and master’s degrees in international Relations and was a fraternity brother at Pi Kappa Alpha. However, more importantly, at Penn he met Teresa Tie-Liang Chin, who would become his life-long partner. David and Teresa were married in Philadelphia on December 12, 1964, shortly before David’s departure to Korea for a tour as a Second Lieutenant in the intelligence branch of the Army.
Two years later, David left active duty to pursue his passion for international relations by entering the Foreign Service. However, he stayed in the Army Reserve for more than 20 years and was awarded The Joint Service Commendation Medal for distinguished service when he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1992. David found his experience in the Army invaluable to his diplomatic mission.
Throughout his 34-year State Department career, David specialized in politico-military issues, including arms control. Following assignments to Paris, NATO/Brussels, and to the Greek Base Negotiations, he played a key role in the negotiation and ratification of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, acting as Special Assistant to Ambassador Glitman for the INF negotiations in 1987, and as Deputy Director of the INF Treaty Ratification task force in 1988. Subsequently, upon promotion to the Senior Foreign Service, David became the Foreign Affairs Advisor (POLAD) to two Army Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1992, for which he was presented the Meritorious Civilian Service Award by the Department of the Army. He was then awarded the Una Chapman Cox fellowship, which he used to write and publish “The Politico-Military Function and the Department of State: The Future of Foreign Policy Advisors (POLADS) in the 21st Century”.
His final assignment was a four year posting as Political Minister Counselor at the U.S. Ottawa Embassy, which sparked a deep abiding interest in Canadian/U.S. relations.
Not only did David enjoy the intellectual challenge of the work, but he was passionate about serving his country in both the Army and the Foreign Service, and he treasured the friendships that emerged during his assignments. Over his Foreign Service career, David was recognized by several State Department Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor awards.
During retirement, David Jones enjoyed a prolific second career as a writer and editor. He wrote hundreds of articles, columns and monographs in Canadian and U.S. newspapers and journals, including Hill Times, Policy Options, Embassy, Ottawa Citizen, Washington Quarterly, American Diplomacy, Orbis, Epoch Times, the Foreign Service Journal, and the Penn Gazette as well as articles for the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
He produced the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing weekly newsletter for eight years, edited numerous sections of the annual State Department Human Rights Report, edited the International Religious Freedom report and co-authored an analysis of the Clinton administration Middle East Peace Process for the State Department Historian.
He also authored or co-authored several books, including Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs: Canada, the USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture, Alternative North Americas: What Canada and the United States Can Learn from Each Other, The Reagan-Gorbachev Arms Control Breakthrough, Forever Tandem and David versus David: We Agree to Disagree. He relished writing every word.
Aside from his professional life, David was known for many things – his love of reading (topping out at 5250 on his list of books read), travel, vanilla ice cream, “granny” cookies, baseball, a desire to wear all the Penn Alumni regalia at Homecoming, and a regrettable habit of punning at every opportunity. He was grateful for every day.
Mr. Jones is survived by his wife, Teresa Jones; his three daughters, Martha, Lisa, and Margaret Jones; his two grandsons, David and Alexander Marshalleck and his sister Elizabeth Pendley. The family of David Jones wishes to extend our sincere thanks to all those who sent their prayers and sympathies.
A memorial service will be scheduled at the Ft. Myer chapel in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Class of 1963 University of Pennsylvania fund or the American Cancer Society in memory of David.
David will be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, where he and Teresa spent hundreds of hours walking and enjoying the grounds. Funeral arrangements will be scheduled by National Funeral Home in Falls Church, VAFuneral arrangements will be scheduled by National Funeral Home in Falls Church, VA

Published in The Washington Post on Aug. 20, 2019.

Random Tandem Thoughts on FS Retirement
BY DAVID T. JONES AND TERESA C. JONES