Donald Carroll Jones was born on September 24th, 1935, to Carroll Jones Jr. and Anastasia (Steese) Terrell in Cane River, Louisiana. He was the younger of two children, with Zorado being his older sister. He was baptized at St. Augustine Church in Natchez, Louisiana. He attended Natchitoches Parish School and later went to St. Anthony, and graduated from Central High School. He attended college at Southern University where he majored in Industrial Arts. Upon graduating from Southern, he served a couple of years in the United States Army, working directly under the base commander. From there he spent a few years teaching high school industrial arts alongside his father, who was the high school principal in Trout, Louisiana. After moving from Louisiana to Los Angeles, he spent over 20 years teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Although he taught in a few places early on, most of his teaching career was spent at Crenshaw High School. There he taught Auto Body for 10 years. He taught and mentored many students; many of who stayed in touch with him even way after graduating, as they saw him as a father figure. Although he loved to teach, it was not his only passion. He retired early from LAUSD to pursue business ventures in the trucking industry.
Donald had his priorities straight: women, his Corvettes and his aquatic toys, and not necessarily in that order. His first automobile was a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette. He had the only one within 150-mile radius down on Cane River.Having such a rare car meant he had to do most, if not all of the repairs, and as such, he started keening his technical abilities and became a fiberglass specialist. Even during his teaching years, he would build and repair Corvettes in his backyard. Not only did he do repairs, he also did custom paint jobs. He even built a 1968 convertible Corvette from the frame up. He had many students volunteering their own time to assist him with his projects. His hands-on technical abilities were not exclusive to just automobiles, he also worked with a few of his good friends from Louisiana, assisting them with various build projects in their construction businesses.
After retiring, he put all of his focus on his trucking business. He started off, with one truck and worked his way up to three. Many times he would be right out there working a jobsite along side his drivers. As time moved on, he found that he really enjoyed playing in the dirt, therefore expanding into some of the different aspects and acquiring additional equipment needed to do so. He bought an Excavator and a Bob Cat with all kinds of attachments. He was a stickler for preparation, and ensured that he and his equipment were ready for every job he took on. Thus, if you were to pass by his home in the evening, you might find his 10 wheeler in the driveway with a trailer behind it, and either the Excavator or Bob Cat loaded and ready to go.
Donald always owned a watercraft of some sort. He spent a lot of time on Cane River in his boat either riding or water skiing with his cousins and friends. In California, his first boat was a speedboat. He would often take the boat to Lake Elsinore, as he had an Aunt who lived in that area. Moreover, he always enjoyed being the "life of the party" around his family and close friends. They would ride, and water ski, as well as party on the shore.As he got older, the boat changed from a speedboat to a fishing or cruising boat. He loved to go fishing and very often would be accompanied by his sister and close friends. Since these boats where no longer meant for speed, he bought a Sea-Doo, as to keep that exhilarating feeling of being on the water and going fast. Donald got to ride his Sea-Doo for the last time in Louisiana, this past summer.
While he loved his water sports, he also loved basketball and his favorite team was the Lakers. You could not call his house when the game was on and expect him to converse with you. He would tell you immediately the game was on and he would call you back, unless you were watching and had a comment about a play. He was also an avid and very competitive gamer. He had every Nintendo that came out followed by the Sony PlayStation. On the Nintendo's he always played baseball, and would spend hours building up his team. He would then call over his daughter Brenda or invite students to come over to play. When he purchased the PlayStation, he started focusing on Golf.He loved Tiger Woods Golf and owned every version. He spent many hours mastering this game and would enjoy a competitive round with his daughter Brenda and/or other family members and friends.
Upon his passing the memories, stories, and thoughts told to family with condolences have all been cheerful memories that have brought laughter to all involved, rather than sadness. Having always brought laughter and joy to those around him; is a wonderful reflection of his life.
Donald is survived by his 3 daughters, Brenda, Veronica and Kimberly; his grandchildren Johnny, Josephine, Marquis and Ryan; his sister Zorado and a host of family and friends.


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