Archives West Finding Aid

Myrtle Eleanor Jones was born Myrtle Smith on August 30, 1900 in Spokane, Washington to Franz (Frank) and Emma Smith. Sometime in her life Myrtle had moved to Miles City, Montana where she became a school teacher. Here she met Earl Percy Jones, and the two married on August 30, 1921. They moved to Seattle, Washington before coming to Latah County in 1971. She died on January 30, 1981 in Moscow, Idaho.

Earl Percy Jones was born on September 20, 1895 to Walter and Sina Jones in Dayton, Ohio. After graduating high school in Ohio, he moved to Montana to homestead. Then in 1917, Earl enlisted in the Army. During World War I, he served in Company E, 4th Engineer Regiment, 4th Division AEF ("Ivy" Division). He saw combat in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. He was discharged in 1919 and returned to Montana to continue ranching. After moving to Seattle, Washington with his wife Myrtle, Earl worked as a waterfront cargo checker in the Puget Sound. He did this for almost forty year before retiring. He died on January 28, 1981 in Moscow, Idaho.

Richard Lindahl Jones was born on July 13, 1926 in Seattle, Washington to Myrtle and Earl. He had five siblings, Eleanor, Donald, Fred, Barbara, and Mary. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Richard joined the US Merchant Marine Service when he was sixteen years old. He and his shipmates supplied troops stationed in Guadalcanal. While his ship was enroute back to Hawaii, he fell ill due to a ruptured appendix. He died on November 18, 1943, shortly after arriving in Honolulu and is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.