Richard Jones 1963-66. My tribute.

Posted on 1/19/26 at 1:46 pm

Posted by alajones

Huntsvegas

Member since Oct 2005

35863 posts

Posted on 1/19/26 at 1:46 pm

This is cathartic for me. I appreciate yalls understanding.

My dad Richard (Bubba) Jones passed away peacefully this morning in his home surrounded by his loved ones.

Bubba was born on November 7th, 1945 in West Monroe, LA. He is a graduate of West Monroe High School, class of 1963. He told me that West Monroe wasn’t any good back then, and that he wasn’t on any all-state lists either. However, he had a very successful track season during the spring. He was 6’4” and 220lbs, and very fast, so LSU offered him a scholarship. From 1963-66, he played Split End (Wide Receiver) for the Tigers. In his sophomore year, the Tigers finished 8-2-1 and ranked #7. They defeated the #12 Syracuse Orangemen in the Sugar Bowl that year, 13-10. During his junior year, he caught what became the game winning TD pass in the Tigers 34-27 victory over the Hurricanes. Later that season, he played in one of the most famous Tiger victories in their history, the 14-7 upset of the undefeated Arkansas Razorbacks in the Cotton Bowl. Unfortunately for my dad, he suffered a catastrophic knee injury in the 1966 spring game that ended his football career. He stayed on the team as a graduate assistant, and earned a Business Degree in 1967.

He married the love of his life in August of 1967, separable only by death. For the first few years after graduation, he worked several different jobs around the Monroe/West Monroe area. Eventually, Louisiana Tech started an Architecture program, and he was one of its first graduates, earning his Masters in 1974. He and my mother built a good life for us growing up in rural Ouachita Parish. We had a 172 acre cow pasture (I wouldn’t call it a ranch), and my dad was able to design and build us a large home adjacent to a pond and surrounded by woods. We went to lots of LSU games throughout the 80s, including the famous FSU game when oranges were thrown on the field.

The 80s were rough for North Louisiana, and in 1988, my dad made the decision to start over in Huntsville, AL. Alabama has been good to us, but we will always be Louisiana folk at heart. He built a very successful career in Huntsville, retiring in 2009.

My dad loved to travel, as kids we went all over the country in our Chevrolet van. He made sure that his grandkids had the same opportunities. Some of our most cherished memories are of visiting national parks throughout the country. He also maintained his love for LSU football. He was a daily reader of Dandy Don, and a season ticket holder from 1999-2021. He kept himself in very good shape by going to the Y almost every weekday since the late 90s. At age 70, he was hiking all over Mount Zion National Park, at age 75 he was walking all over Washington, DC. However, time comes for us all. A couple of years ago, he got to where he couldn’t walk up stairs or into the Y from his truck without getting winded. He eventually succumbed to congestive heart failure. Sidenote- those folks who work for Hospice are truly doing the Lord’s work.

When my dad could still write, he wrote a few paragraphs over the summer on a sheet of paper with his final wishes. Part of that paper stated “...don’t make a big fuss. Just go back to the house and drink a beer or something and tell some stories. Death comes for us all.” I will have a beer and smoke one of your cigars tonight Dad. You will be missed.

This post was edited on 1/19/26 at 5:57 pm

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