Jesse Jones was born on November 13, 1936, in

Big Sandy, Texas Big Sandy is a town in Upshur County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 1,231. A lake of the same name is cut nearly in half by U.S. Highway 80, the main thoroughfare of Big Sandy. It lies directly west ...

."Jesse Jones Obituary - Murrieta, California"
. ''obitsforlife.com''. Retrieved on 16 February 2015. He died on July 14, 2014. He was the son of Hattie Chalk and Truman Jones.

Military

Jones was a former member of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

."Former USJA President Jesse Jones Passes Away"
''United States Judo Association''. Retrieved on 16 February 2015. He served from 1952 to 1973, having served in the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

s. He earned two

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s during his tenure.

Judo

Jones learned

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

while a member of the US Marines. He went on to teach Judo for over 55 years. During this time, he implemented a number of Judo programs in the

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Area as well as Southwestern College. He organized a number of tournaments at Southwestern College. Jones served as the Southwest Judo Association Yudankashi's first vice president."Black Belt"
''google.com''. Retrieved on 16 February 2015. Jones was also a President of the

United States Judo Association The United States Judo Association is a sports association in the United States. It was formed in 1969 following a reorganization of the Armed Forces Judo Association, and is one of three national judo associations in the United States, the othe ...

. It was during this tenure that he brought the organization back from almost closing due to

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. He won the United States Judo Association's Coach of the Year Award in 2013. He served as a technical advisor during the US Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. Jones also earned the United States Judo Associations USJA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal life

Jones married Joan Seidel and had two children, Andrea Lee and Nicole Suzanne. Jones earned his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jesse 1936 births 2014 deaths United States Marines American male judoka Martial arts school founders Judoka trainers People from Big Sandy, Texas Military personnel from Texas San Diego State University alumni 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American sportsmen