Phil Jones, age 87, passed away in his home surrounded by family on May 27, 2026, just a few months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. While we prayed for healing and treasured every “good day,” he walked in faith until the very end and trusted that God was in control and was answering our prayers in the way He knew best.

Phil was born February 22, 1939, in Frederick, OK to Noel & Betty (Weathers) Jones. He grew up with his baby sister Sue (Jones) McMillan in a Christ-centered home full of love, laughter, hard work and fun. Phil made a profession of faith and was baptized at First Baptist Church Frederick on April 4, 1948. In his early years, when he was not teasing Sue, he helped his father in the Noel Jones Auto Services shop – fueling his lifelong interest in cars and his career path to engineering. During high school, he played tennis & a little basketball but enjoyed driving his scooter, “dragging main street” and pulling pranks with his buddies even more. He was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by his classmates.

Phil met Carmen Russell at Frederick High School when both were in a typing class together, but the two did not start dating until they both were at Oklahoma State University. In college, Carmen wanted to teach Phil how to bowl, but true to his ornery self, he had a buddy secretly teach him first, so that when Carmen “taught him,” he was able to get a strike on his “first try” to impress her! He worked in Walla Walla, WA at a pea canning factory for 2 summers during college, which encouraged his passion for manufacturing.

While on semester break, Phil & Carmen married on January 20, 1962. After graduating with his Industrial Engineering degree, Phil accepted a position at Caterpillar Tractor Company in 1963 in their Plant Operations Training Program. One of his most rewarding positions was as General Foreman of Engine Assembly in the Mossville, IL plant where he successfully sold the idea of implementing a manual conveyor that customized engines prior to full assembly instead of retrofitting the engine afterwards. Over the years, Phil’s career included roles such as Manufacturing Systems Development (1968); Dealer Data Processing for the mid-west region (cutting edge computers in 1969); Quality Staff Engineer (1973); Manager of Manufacturing Processes & Tooling Development (1975) as well as several opportunities to enhance Caterpillars’ recruiting, hiring and training programs throughout his later years. Phil retired after 36 years, responsible for the Professional & Corporate Employment function.

When he began working at Caterpillar, Phil and Carmen selected Washington, IL as their new hometown. They joined First Baptist Church Washington and quickly became active members. In 1965, Phil was ordained as a Deacon and was the Church Treasurer for 42 years. Phil was also active with the Illinois Baptist Foundation, seeking to help underserved ministers, their wives, and students pursuing careers in Christian service. While Phil was most known for being responsible, detail-oriented, organized and hard-working, he also had a light-hearted side that enjoyed making people smile. Two of his daughters’ favorite “silly Dad” memories is him dressing up as Santa making home visits to help spread Christmas cheer and wearing a ballcap with an attached ponytail to his daughter’s wedding rehearsal.

In 2013, after losing their Washington home to a tornado, Phil and Carmen visited the Springfield, MO area, prioritizing being closer to family. When they visited Second Baptist Church in Springfield, they were so warmly welcomed into the Sunday School Class, they decided to make this their next home. In Springfield, Phil’s favorite way to spend time, other than visiting with family and playing with his pups (Duke and Duchess), was working with various Christian-based ministries including: Victory Gardens (planting & harvesting crops of vegetables donated locally; led 2 building projects), Convoy of Hope, Stained Glass Theatre (set-building & volunteer coordination), Southwest Baptist University’s Springfield Nursing Program, Gideon’s, as well as participating as his Sunday School Class’s Director.

Phil and Carmen built their own Christ-centered home full of love, laughter, hard work and fun including their daughters Belinda Jones and DiAnne Deeds. Besides his daughters, Phil leaves great memories with son-in-law Steve Deeds; granddaughter Rachel (Deeds) and -her husband Justin McNeely; grandson Matthew and his wife Madison (Mann) Deeds; Great-Grandsons Cy and Asher McNeely; his sister Sue (Jones) McMillan, her son Joel Bearden; his sister-in-law, Sabra Ladd, her son Brian Ladd and daughter Ladd; and, a host of cousins, great-nieces and nephews. Welcoming him to Heaven includes Phil’s niece Shirley (Bearden) Jones, his parents Noel & Betty Jones and his in-laws Calvin & Pearl Russell, along with dear cousins and friends.

We will be honoring Phil’s legacy on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Second Baptist Church 3111 E Battlefield Rd, Springfield, MO with Visitation at 10:00 am and the Funeral at 11:00 am. The Graveside Interment will be at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens at 12:45 pm. Given Phil’s enthusiastic support of Christian ministries, the family encourages memorial donations to SBU’s Nursing Program in lieu of flowers. Southwest Baptist - Make a Gift – Make a Gift