Joseph Jay Jones (1908–1999)

Joseph Jay Jones (29 June 1908-12 February 1999), professor of English for 40 years, died at age 91. He was preceded in death by his wife, Johanna, and their son, David, and is survived by two daughters, Judy Holden and Suzie Sarrett. He was born in Peru, Nebraska, and attended public schools in Tecumseh, Nebraska. After three years at Nebraska State College in Peru (1926-1929), he transferred to the University of Nebraska and graduated in 1930. He then attended Stanford University, where he received his MA in 1931 and his PhD in 1934.

After teaching at Colorado State College (1934-1935), Joe began his 40 years of service to The University of Texas. His collegiality was evident in his memberships: the American Association of University Professors, the Modern Language Association, the South Central Modern Language Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the Conference of College Teachers of English, and the Texas Association of College Teachers. His initiative and leadership were reflected in the offices he held in professional organizations, such as chapter president of the American Association of University Professors, chapter president of the Texas Association of College Teachers, and president of the Union Club. He also served on the editorial boards of numerous organizations and publications, including American Speech, Australian Literary Studies, Studies in the Novel, the Committee on Manuscripts Holdings, and the Committee on American Literature for the Modern Language Association. His professional service to the University included an enormous number and wide variety of committees, such as the Faculty Council, the Committee on Fulbright Scholarships, the Calendar Committee, the Sophomore English Committee, and the Texas Union Board.

Joe and his beloved wife Johanna were very much at home in Austin but they were also well traveled. Joe served as a visiting professor at East Texas State College in Commerce, Texas, the University of Illinois, and the University of Minnesota. Abroad, he had visiting professorships at Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand, and at Cape Town and Witwatersrand, in South Africa. He also had Fulbright fellowships at the University of Hong Kong and Chinese University, Hong Kong.

In addition to their travels together, Joe and Johanna were partners in researching and writing numerous books and publications. In a period of only three years (1981-1983), Twayne Publishers published three of their books: Canadian Fiction, Australian Fiction, and New Zealand Fiction, despite the fact that Professor Jones "retired" in 1975.

For a full listing of his bibliography see University of Texas Faculty Memorials at http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council...