Donald Jones

Donald “Don” Jones died of pancreatic cancer very comfortably and peacefully with Jean at his side on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at age 89. Don was born June 18, 1935, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to Myrtle “Mickey” (Olson) Jones and Floyd “Bud” Jones of Menasha, Wisconsin.  He attended Menasha public schools through his sophomore year, then Phelps Union Free High School in Phelps Wisconsin. Don studied at UW-Madison where he rowed on the crew and was an officer in student government.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and international relations.

Don enlisted in the US Army Counterintelligence Corps and served in intelligence assignments in the US, Germany, and Vietnam.  He received a direct commission while stationed in Germany. His last rank held was that of major.

During his service in Germany (then West Germany) he was a member of a small team that investigated and enabled the arrest by the Germans of the first American to be tried and found guilty of industrial espionage in West Germany. While stationed in Da Nang, South Vietnam, he led an imagery and photo interpretation team during the Tet Offensive. Upon his return to the US, Don served with a special security group at the Pentagon.

After leaving the service, Don worked in the federal anti-poverty program for ten years in Madison and Washington, D.C.  He was very proud that, as a consultant, he helped write the rules for the first low-income energy assistance program appropriation and assisted in implementing the program.  He created the training materials and conducted the nationwide training for the introduction of the Social Security Administration’s then-new Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit.

As a consultant, Don represented the US Community Services Administration on President Jimmy Carter’s White House Review of Solar Energy.

In 1981, Don started working on the gubernatorial campaign of Tony Earl, who was elected Wisconsin’s 41st governor in 1982.  That year, Don joined the national staff of Senator Alan Cranston‘s presidential campaign.  Don worked in Nebraska, Iowa, and Maine, and was state director for Wisconsin.

In 1983, Don was appointed executive director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, a post he held until 1987.

In 1990, Don joined Sears as a manager at an experimental telecenter in Madison. In 1997, he took an IT position at Sears’ headquarters in Hoffman Estates, IL, where he worked on the company’s Y2K computer security project.

He returned to Madison in 2000 and, after retiring in 2002, stayed active in Wisconsin Democratic politics. Ever positive, he was hopeful that thoughtful Republicans would join with Democrats and independents to restore a caring, civil society.  It was a hope that was not fulfilled.

In 2009, Don was selected to be the event director for LZ Lambeau, the official State of Wisconsin thank you and welcome home tribute to the state’s Vietnam and Vietnam Era veterans.  More than two years in the planning, the event -- sponsored by Wisconsin Public Television (WPT), Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Wisconsin Historical Society -- was held at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on May 20-22, 2010.  More than 70,000 veterans, their families, and citizens from all over Wisconsin and 28 other states gathered for the weekend.  Don considered it the high point of his professional career.

Don continued to work on behalf of Wisconsin veterans, with WPT and the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, and took on a second event director’s role for the 2012 tribute to the state’s WW II veterans, Operation Greatest Generation.  The tribute was held at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay on May 4, 2012, with nearly 2,500 in attendance, of whom more than 300 were WW II veterans. Following that he participated in the WPR project to find photographs of those killed in Vietnam and whose names are inscribed on The Wall in Washington, D.C. and a WPT project to assist Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan veterans in their return to civilian life. He considered his work with veterans from around Wisconsin to be a mission encouraging them to tell their war experience stories as a way to re-enter fully into civilian life in their communities and with their families.

Don was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather and grandmother, Fred Jones and Anne (Radtke) Jones, Stevens Point, WI; maternal grandmother, Minnie Olson Tellinghuisen, Blair, WI; and father, Floyd “Bud” Jones and mother, Myrtle “Mickey” (Olson) Jones, both of Menasha, Phelps, and Shawano, WI.

Don is survived by his beloved partner of more than 40 years, Jean Espenshade, daughter, Kirsten (Kira) Ericka Jones, son Timothy (Tim) Jones, their mother, Petra Ressler, and longtime dear friend, Jane James, all of Madison, WI.

The family is profoundly grateful for the care provided by the staff at the Middleton VA Hospice and at Agrace Hospice.

A memorial service with full military honors will be held on Friday April 25, 2025, at Ryan Funeral Home, 2418 N. Sherman Ave, Madison WI 53704 starting at 5:00 PM.  The service will be followed by an informal gathering with light refreshments from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.  

Don asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the History Project of PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television), the project that produced the documentaries: Wisconsin WWII War Stories, Wisconsin Korean War Stories, and Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories. Address: Friends of PBS Wisconsin, 821 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706.

To view his obituary or to leave a memory, please visit:  www.ryanfuneralservice.com.