Sunday, January 25, 1998, marked the end an era, with the passing of Penn Jones, Jr. This first generation assassination researcher, loved and admired by so many, died in a nursing home in Alvarado, Texas, at the age of 83, after a long struggle against Alzheimer's disease.

William Penn Jones, Jr. was born October 15, 1914, in Annona, Texas, to Penn and Gussie May Jones, Sr. He ran the Midlothian Mirror for 30 years and was the author of a series of books, Forgive My Grief, Volumes I - IV, concerning the JFK assassination. In the 1970s and early 80s he founded and published the newsletter, The Continuing Inquiry.

"He was a crusty, no-nonsense guy," said Gary Mack, archivist of The Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas who in the early 1980s co-edited TCI with Jones. "He was direct. His language was very colorful in a typical Texas way. He seemed fearless."

He was the recipient of the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for Courage in Journalism after his office was firebombed in the early 1960s. He was also a Brigadier General in the United States Army, and served in all the major campaigns of Europe during World War II.

He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waxahachie, and was given last rights by Father Mark Seitz.

He was survived by two sons, Penn Jones III of Fort Worth, and Michael Jones of Dallas; two granddaughters, Melis and Nedjie; a daughter-in-law, Donna; and his wife Elaine.

Mr. Jones received notoriety for his early questioning of the Warren Commission's report and for suggesting that as many as 150 people connected with President Kennedy's assassination died under mysterious circumstances.

As a liberal editor in a conservative community, Mr. Jones became embroiled in a 1962 dispute with Midlothian school administrators over their refusal to invite speakers to rebut talks given by members of the right-wing John Birch Society.

When the Midlothian Mirror office was firebombed soon after, many residents assumed it stemmed from Mr. Jones' outspoken position. As a result, he was given the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for courageous journalism, said Dallas author Hugh Aynesworth, who was among those who nominated Mr. Jones.

The son of sharecroppers, Mr. Jones was born Oct. 14, 1914, in the northeastern Texas town of Annona. He rode the rails with hobos during the Depression and then worked his way through the University of Texas at Austin by washing dishes and picking black-eyed peas, said his second wife, Elaine K. Jones.

Mr. Jones was a member of the Army Reserve when World War II broke out, and served in the European theater, rising to the rank of captain. On his retirement from the reserves in 1974, he was promoted to brigadier general, his widow said.

In 1946, he purchased the Mirror for $4,000, and by the early 1960s had made a town full of enemies, he told an interviewer in 1962. When the paper was hit by the homemade incendiary, Mr. Jones said, "Lots of people walked away from my shop yesterday and they didn't say they were sorry."

Before integration, he argued in favor of improving the town's black school, another unpopular position. He finally sold the paper in 1974.

After Kennedy's death, "Penn was one of the first generation of researchers who felt the government was behind the assassination -- probably a conspiracy involving military intelligence," Mack said. "He always thought LBJ was behind it somehow."

He met his second wife 21 years ago while she was on a college tour of Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the site of the 1963 assassination, she recalled yesterday.

His first marriage ended in divorce in 1981.

Mr. Jones' remains were cremated and his ashes buried on the grounds of his Boyce farm, his family said.

The Coalition on Political Assassinations (COPA) has announced plans for a Penn Jones memorial event on November 22, 1998 on the Grassy Knoll in Dallas. This event will be part of its national conference activities that weekend in Dallas, with comments about Penn's life and contributions.

COPA awarded Mr. Jones its Sylvia Meagher Lifetime Achievement award in 1995, in recognition of his many years of contributions to JFK research. JFK-Lancer gave him a similar award in 1996.

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