Donald Jones
Donald H. Jones is a truly an American hero - from his distinguished basketball career beginning at Farrell High School to a 28-year career in the United States Army, during which he achieved the rank of colonel. Jones, who retired from the Army in May 1990, led Coach Ed McCluskey's Steelers to their third state title as a junior in 1956.
He scored 28 points against Palmerton in Farrell's 57-45 state game victory. In his three years at Farrell, Jones scored 1,127 points, including 467 as a junior and 441 as a senior, and led the Steelers to a 66-19 mark in that span.
After graduating in 1957, he continued his career at Niagara University, from where he graduated in 1961 with a bachelors degree in accounting.
He was named 3K honorable mention Catholic College All-American and was one of the leading rebounders among all collegiate teams in the country. He later earned a master's in business administration degree from the College of William and Mary.
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry branch from the ROTC program at Niagara and entered the Army in 1962 to what would be a long and exemplary career.
His dual-tracked Army career was in Infantry/Special Forces and Acquisition/ Procurement. He served two years in Vietnam with the Green Berets and eight years in Germany with the Mechanized/ Armor Units.
His celebrated list of military decorations consists of 23 medals, which include among others, the Defense Special Achievement Medal, Legion of Merit, two Awards of the Bronze Star for Valor and the Purple Heart for wounds received during his first tour of duty in Vietnam. Others are the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Senior Parachutist Badge, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and the Vietnamese Courageous Medal.
He achieved the rank of colonel in 1983. He has been married to the former Sarah Lillian Phillips of Mercer since 1957. They have three children: Donald Jr., a high school administrator in Los Angeles; Darlene Park, a flight attendant with Delta Airlines in Los Angeles; and Dianne Jones, an assistant U.S. attorney in Dallas. They have two grandchildren.
He has been employed by McDonnell Douglas as a procurement manager and is currently living in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.