Dr. Richard Andrew Jones' Obituary
Richard Andrew Jones passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 26, 2025. He was born in Strong, Arkansas, on September 23, 1937 to Porter and Adele Jones. Following graduation from Strong High School, Richard briefly worked in the oil fields. Richard’s desire to continue his education led him to Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, AR. He transferred to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville to pursue a degree in electrical engineering. Lacking the money to remain at the university, Richard joined the United States Army in 1961 as an “Intelligence Specialist,” where he served until 1964, achieving the rank of Sergeant.
After his service in the Army, Richard married Suzanne “Susie” Bates. Richard and Susie relocated to Fayetteville, where he resumed his electrical engineering studies. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1967, followed by a master’s degree in 1968. Richard earned his PhD from Southern Methodist University in 1972.
Before joining the University of Arkansas as an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in 1977, Richard worked for Electronic Data Systems and Collins Radio in Dallas, Texas, and Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Upon joining the faculty at Arkansas, Richard quickly established a premier research group specializing in communication and information theory. His research group quickly branched into the areas of computer vision, adaptive filtering, and data/image compression. In the 1980s, Richard’s research group produced a high percentage of the total Master’s and PhD electrical engineering graduates. As such, Professor Jones played a substantial role in laying the foundation for what has now become the most productive graduate research program at the University of Arkansas. Richard retired from the University as a Professor Emeritus in May 2003.
Richard was a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, IEEE, and the Arkansas Academy of Electrical Engineering.
Richard was a long-time member of First Baptist Church in Fayetteville. In his later years, Richard grew in his faith to realize that “…church is much more than brick and mortar…”
In retirement, Richard spent his time renovating and updating their home, swimming, spoiling their many dogs and cats, sharing his oral poetry, and exercising his passion for foreign languages, especially German and Spanish. Before the COVID shutdowns, Richard and Susie enjoyed Friday evening gatherings with friends on the Fayetteville square, where they enjoyed great food and conversation over pizza and drinks. Richard was also a member of a group of mostly retired university professors that met for breakfast every Wednesday morning.
Richard was preceded in death by his mother, father, brother (John Thomas ‘Tommy’), and wife (Suzanne ‘Susie’).
Honor/memory donations can be made to the Dr. Richard A. Jones Endowed Scholarship. Make checks payable to the University of Arkansas Foundation, memo “Dr. Richard Jones Scholarship”, mail to: Gift Administrations, 481 S. Shiloh Drive, Suite 170, 1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701 OR online honor/memory donations can be made online at https://onlinegiving.uark.edu/ in comments: include “Dr. Richard Jones Scholarship”
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