David Richard Jones, long time Bainbridge Islander, passed away May 17, 2019.
David was born to Muriel and Richard Jones, February 24th 1938 in Pensby, a rural village on Wirral peninsula, in the county of Cheshire in the northwest of England.
Upon graduating high school, he studied structural engineering at Birkenhead Engineering College, Liverpool and Manchester Universities.
In 1960, he emigrated to Canada and lived in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, working in the engineering department of Canadian Westinghouse. He also continued his engineering studies at McMaster University, Hamilton. While living in Hamilton, he enjoyed performing in plays with Hamilton Theater Guild.
In 1962, David moved west to Vancouver BC where he met Louise McCloud and they married in 1964. They also enjoyed performing in plays with the Vancouver Theater Guild. They moved to San Francisco where they lived for a number of years, and took an extended 6 months tour of England and the continent before moving to Seattle and Manitou Beach, Bainbridge Island in 1972, where their children, Morgan and Vanessa were raised. David worked with a number of consulting engineering companies, in Seattle, commuting from Bainbridge Island and as an engineering consultant on Bainbridge Island.
David and Louise, enjoyed their involvement with Bainbridge Performing Arts, performing, and directing plays during their early years on Bainbridge Island. David also played Henry Higgins, In Pygmalion at the, now closed, Lyric Theater, Seattle.
In 1980 David continued to live on Manitou Beach and Louise moved to Winslow. Morgan and Vanessa, both graduated from Bainbridge Island High School, and subsequently Eastern Washington colleges.
David met Charles F. Vigil in 1981 and became life partners, sharing their home on Manitou Beach and their apartment in downtown Seattle. David always enjoyed playing the piano and singing. He joined Seattle Mens Chorus in 1981 and sang with them for 25 year in their annual Christmas Concert at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, and the annual concerts at McCaw Hall, Seattle. With the Mens Chorus, he was also honored to have sang concerts with numerous notable singers including Tatiana Troyanos, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Rosemary Clooney, Debby Reynolds and Natalie Cole. He was also thrilled to have sang with the Mens Chorus in concerts at Symphony Hall, Boston, Carnegie Hall, New York, Myerson Concert Hall, Dallas, Texas, and the huge St. Johns the Divine, Cathedral, New York. He was also an auxiliary chorus member with Seattle Opera Company and performed in War and Peace, Die Meistersingers and other operas over many years.
David changed his career in 1980 to hospital administration, working for Pacific Medical Center, Sisters of Providence, and Group Health. In 1990 he
changed his career and became an administrator for rehabilitation and nursing care, with a focus on dementia care. In the years before his retirement in 2008
he was administrator for Group Health, Mount St Vincent, Sea Mar, Island
Health & Rehab Center, Bainbridge Island, and Ida Culver Nursing Center, Seattle. David and Charles loved travel, and together they toured the world extensively particularly enjoying cruise ship vacations. David loved to cook and both David and Charles loved to entertain and have parties. They initiated the annual summer gathering for Manitou Beach residents, which they hosted for the past twelve years.
David is survived by Charles F. Vigil his life partner of 39 years, Morgan David Jones and his wife Sandy, of Spokane, and three grandchildren, Isobelle Jones, Henry Jones and Gracie Jones. He is also survived by his daughter, Vanessa Louise Jones and her husband Tom Webster of Bainbridge Island. David is also survived by his cousin Dr. John Collings of Leeds, England, cousin Joan Hilton of Bebington, England and second cousin Sue Hilton of Bebington, England.
David enjoyed regular visits to England visiting family and school friends in the northwest in May, driving the county lanes, when the hedgerow and hillside of his homeland bloomed with daffodils, his favorite flower.
A gathering of friends and family will be held later in the summer.
