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Longtime civic leader A.V. Jones Jr. dies

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By Melinda L. Lucas

Energy industry entrepreneur and Albany ambassador A.V. Jones Jr. died Sunday afternoon, July 12 after struggling with health issues for much of this year. He was 88.

Jones moved to Albany with his parents soon after he was born in June 1932. After graduating from Albany High School and the University of Oklahoma, he formed an oil partnership with his father and brother in Albany, the first of many companies that he either founded, cofounded, or invested in over a period of almost seven decades.

He held dozens of leadership positions in the energy industry, including an appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to the National Petroleum Council. 

He was also an avid outdoorsman with a passion for quail hunting and quail conservation.

However, it was his service and dedication to his hometown that earned him the admiration of friends and neighbors.

He received Albany’s second Cornerstone Award 50 years ago in 1970, the same year he was elected to the board of First National Bank. He was president of the Albany school board, supported the Fandangle, Chamber, and Old Jail Art Center, acted as the guiding hand for the Albany Nativity, and was an ardent backer of all local civic activities and AISD sports. Friends and family say he was an advocate for Albany wherever he went.

A full obituary will be published in next week’s paper.