Riverstone Family Honors Peter E. Jones

November 15, 2020

A special celebration of life memorial service was held earlier this month for Peter Edward Jones, the father of Riverstone developer Tim Jones. Peter E. Jones passed away on October 20th of this year at the age of 94.

Peter E. Jones always had a smile on his face while enjoying spending time with family and friends.

Pictured here are Peter E. Jones with his wife, Antoinette Jones, and their five children, Gerard, Peter, Janice, Timothy and Richard.

A distinguished California citizen whose character and deeds in life merited respect, Peter will be remembered for his illustrious record of personal, professional and civic achievements, as well as the enduring love and devotion he gave to his family and friends.

Paying tribute to his life and honoring the service he gave to his country and community, five proclamations were issued to Peter E. Jones—from the United States Congress, the State of California, the City of Fresno, the County of Fresno as well as the County of Madera. Mayor Lee Brand and the Fresno City Council expressed its sincerest appreciation by officially proclaiming Thursday, October 29th to be “Peter E. Jones Day.”

Born on January 26, 1926 in Emmetsburg, Iowa to Madeline and John P. Jones, Peter E. Jones relocated with his family to Sacramento, California, and upon graduation from Grant Union High School, he joined the United States Navy at age 17, serving in the South Pacific during World War II until his honorable discharge as a decorated veteran in 1946.

Relocating to Fresno after the war (living with his family at their home on ‘S’ Street, downtown), Peter E. Jones met the love of his life, Antoinette Caglia, at a church social in 1947. They were married at St. Alphonsus Church in 1948, and to support his growing family, which would come to include five children, Peter went to work at The Fresno Bee newspaper, becoming the manager of the newspaper’s General and Classified Advertising Departments.

Having enlisted for the U.S. Navy Reserve after WW II, when the Korean War broke out in 1950, Peter was called back up by the Navy and sent out to sea for 18 months. Upon his return he resumed working at the Bee until his retirement in December of 2005. Upon his retirement, longtime Bee reporter, columnist and editor Bill McEwen wrote an article referring to Peter as the “Cal Ripken Jr.” of The Fresno Bee for having worked there for more than 57 years.

Peter obtained his realtor and broker’s license along the way and sold real estate on weekends with his brother-in-law, Andy Caglia. He continued to renew his broker’s license until just a few years ago and worked part-time with his son, Tim, at his Riverstone development company until earlier this year.

He and Antoinette were married for 67 years, until her passing in 2015. Peter remained active and involved with family and friends right up until his last few days, still driving and doing things he enjoyed, including staying active in the Catholic Church and its charities. Having grown up during the Great Depression and serving in two wars, Peter never complained and never took anything for granted. He was blessed with longevity and quality of life to the very end. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all who knew him.

Peter is survived by his five children and their spouses: Gerard and Sarah; Peter and Cathie; Janice and Jeff Kleinberg; Timothy and Miranda; and Richard and Lisa. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, his brother Bill, sister Betty Zanoni, brother-in-law Michael Caglia, sister-in-law Rosemary Bushman, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Antoinette, his brother Bob and sister Marian Bonafacio.