Ralph William “Bill” Jones, age 84 of Salem, passed away on Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at SSM Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon. Bill taught band, chorus, and art in public schools of Southern Illinois for 26 years, twenty of those years in the Odin School System. He was a member of the Salem Kiwanis, Salem Independent Order of the Oddfellows and Rebekahs. He was an organist and choir director at Central Christian Church in Salem for many years as well as board chairman four times. In 1981 he began serving as the organist at Trinity United Methodist Church where he was a member for many years. He enjoyed model railroading, painting, cooking, and movies. He was the director of the Mt. Vernon Crossroads Barbershop Chorus for three years, and the Salem Okaw-Valley Barbershop Chorus for 10 years.
Funeral services for Ralph William “Bill” Jones will be held on Monday, August 16, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Salem with Rae Delao officiating. Burial will follow at East Lawn Cemetery in Salem. There will be a visitation at the church on Monday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service. Memorial contributions can be made to the Trinity Untied Methodist Church in Salem and can be left at Crouse Funeral Home who is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.CrouseFH.com.
Survivors include his nephew, Alex Thoms Jr. of Coulterville; great nephews, Christopher Thoms and wife Jamie and William Scott Thoms all of Coulterville; great-great nephew Logan Alexander Thoms of Coulterville; and special friend Georgine Hawley of Centralia. He was also survived by many cousins, extended family, and close friends
Ralph was born on December 14, 1936 in Sparta, Illinois, the son of Jessie I. and Lulu E. (Hamilton) Jones. He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Jessie Jones Jr.; sister, Juanita Faye Thoms; and a brother in-law, Alex Thoms.
