Former Cole County presiding commissioner dies

Word spread quickly Tuesday morning after the death of former Cole County Presiding Commissioner Bob Jones was announced.

Jones, 74, died at Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City.

Mary Greer (left) and her brother Jonathon (cq), both of Lonoke, react to a cascade of cool water on the Spray Pad in Peabody Park in Little Rock Friday. They was there with their mother Lura Greer.

He served as commissioner from 1998-2007. Those who served with Jones on the commission had nothing but praise for his leadership.

“I know one thing, there will never be a more honest or caring person,” said former Eastern District Commissioner Mike “Pee Wee” Forck. “He was a joy to work with. You could always talk things over with Bob. You might not always agree, but we never got into hassles. He was a true friend of mine. He worked hard to (make) a new jail a reality. Sometimes it takes a few years to get something started before it gets done. He worked hard on that sales tax. He was always working to do what’s best for Cole County.”

“Bob was always fair with me and with everybody,” said former Western District Commissioner Chris Wrigley. “He wanted the best for Cole County. He went out of his way to make things work when other people would probably have just given up, but Bob got the job done. He got people to work together and that was his strength. It was a good six years that we worked together. He was a very capable and understanding man.”

As he reflected on his eight years in office during a December 2006 interview, Jones said when he came on board as presiding commissioner he’d heard the horror stories about his home phone ringing off the hook at night with complaints.

To his surprise, that didn’t happen.

“My wife first thought that we’d have to get an unlisted phone number,” he said. “But I think I’ve only had a half dozen or so phone calls after hours.”

Along with getting the courthouse annex remodeled and made usable, Jones said he was proud the commission was able to do remodeling and upgrading of the courthouse and Carnegie Building.

Being able to re-instate the regional planning commission, which is made of officials from six central Missouri counties, was perhaps the biggest accomplishment Jones was proud of because the commission was defunct when he took office.

“This group was instrumental in getting the widening of U.S. 50 from St. Martins to California done,” he said.

“Bob was a delight to work with,” said Cole County Treasurer Eric Peters who served with Jones when Peters was Western District commissioner. “When he came on board, we were in need of someone with decorum and he was the perfect person for that. He brought a professionalism to the position and the ability to bring people together to make things happen. He was key to getting the County Annex up and running. He got us moving in the right direction.”

“Bob was a good friend of downtown Jefferson City,” said current Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman. “He worked hard on Living Windows. He and I were in Lions Club together, and he’d always be out helping with the sale of peanuts. He just was a real gentleman. When I decided to run, I asked him to be on my advisory committee. He taught me a lot, and I had a lot of respect for him.”

As of Tuesday night, funeral arrangements were pending, under the direction of Houser-Millard Funeral Directors.