JERVE M. JONES
September 21, 1918 to March 20, 2016
Jerve M. Jones passed away peacefully early Sunday morning at his residence in Ojai, California. He was born in Boyle Heights across the river from downtown Los Angeles, to Oliver and Zola Jones. He spent his childhood growing up in Playa Del Rey and Venice, residing on the Speedway at 48th Street. He loved the beach, the Venice canals and the abundant sand dunes dotted with oil rigs. He rode the “Del Rey Dinkie” to the “Red Line” trolley to get around, from Venice to Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles.
Jerve is survived by his wife of 74 years, Alice Jones and their three children, Greg Jones, Janey Jones and Kevin Jones. He also leaves behind seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Jerve and Alice were married in 1942.
A graduate of USC in 1939, he earned a BS degree in mechanical engineering. He immediately joined his father’s small construction company known as Jones Brothers Construction. Jones Brothers was founded by Jerve’s father and uncles (Oliver, John and Charles) in Seattle, Washington in the early 1900’s. They moved south in 1916 to take advantage of the growing population and economy in Southern California.
When Jerve joined the family business full time, the company was performing projects such as schools, bank buildings and other small commercial structures. Through his efforts the cost estimating was upgraded and the client base expanded. In his business life, he was an engineer at heart, always searching for the best solution to any challenge. With the onset of World War II, Jerve was compelled to join the massive effort underway in this country to design and manufacture military equipment. He took a leave from construction to join Northrop as a design engineer working on a new generation of military aircraft.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was motivated to get closer to the action. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was commissioned as an Ensign, First Class. After training in Florida, he was assigned to the light cruiser, USS Montpelier with the Pacific Fleet. His job was watching radar imagery of enemy targets at sea and incoming enemy aircraft. During engagement with the enemy, he became a key member of the on-board Command Control Center directing combat air operations. After the Japanese surrender, his ship was stationed for a period of time in Japan.
Upon leaving the Navy, Jerve was reunited with his wife and got back to the construction business. Jones Brothers was headquartered in Beverly Hills at that time. Jerve and Alice built a house in Pacific Palisades where they raised their family. The company grew to include larger projects and clients such as Pacific Telephone Company, UCLA, American Airlines, Litton Industries and International Rectifier. By the 1980’s Jones Brothers was one of the largest Los Angeles based construction companies. Jerve served as Chairman of the Construction Industries Council of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jerve co-founded Jones Construction Management, later known as JCM Group, which provided project management and program management services to large institutional clients such as universities and college districts, advising them on their capital improvement projects. He later co-founded Held/Jones, a partnership of Held Properties, Jones Brothers and JCM Group. Held/Jones was awarded a public/private, design/build development agreement for the Medical Plaza at UCLA. It includes three medical buildings and a parking structure adjacent to UCLA Hospital.
In 1987, Jones Brothers and C.L. Peck merged to become Peck/Jones Construction Corporation. Jerve served as CEO and President until the late 1990’s. Peck/Jones built many prestigious projects during that time including a complete reconstruction of the passenger terminals for American Airlines at Chicago O’Hare Airport and LAX, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the 52 story 777 Figueroa Tower and the 21 story Smith Financial Plaza in Oxnard.
Jerve was a founding member of Construction Management Association of America. During his career, Jerve was active on the boards of numerous industry organizations, schools, universities, hospitals and charities.
After leaving Peck/Jones and moving to Ojai, Jerve joined his son Kevin in forming Jones and Jones, a construction management and general contracting firm based in Ojai. Jones and Jones has managed and constructed projects such as the Red Building at Pacific Design Center, Calabasas Civic Center and American Airlines Gate Enhancements at LAX.
Jerve was a staunch patriot, a proud veteran and he loved his country. To those who knew him he was a heroic exemplar of the American way. The best of America was embodied in Jerve Jones.
Jerve loved golf and played regularly. He was an avid sailor and spent many weekends racing his Olympic Class Star boat at various regattas up and down the coast from San Diego to San Francisco. He also loved camping, fishing, backpacking and skiing.
Jerve was known for being fair, honest and respectful of others. He applied these principals to business, friends and family. He was highly respected by everyone who met him due to his integrity and strong ethics. His moral compass, his ability to know right versus wrong was never faulty. He was strongly rooted in Christian values. He was a great role model for us all. We were lucky to have him in our lives and will truly miss him.
Family and friends are invited to Memorial Service at 11:00 am, Saturday, April 9, 2016 in the JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME,757 East Main Street, Ventura, CA 93001.