William Raymond Jones, II

William “Bill” Raymond Jones II, age 56, of Alpharetta, GA, passed away May 4th, 2019, from throat cancer. Bill was born on December 28, 1962 in Decatur, Alabama.
Bill spent most of his childhood growing up in Montgomery, Alabama. The son of two educators, he could never get away with anything in school, his teachers always tattled on him. He read a lot of books in the back seat of his parent’s car, going to take care of loved ones on weekends and on memorable summer family vacations exploring the country. He was honored as a Presidential Scholar, receiving his medal from Nancy Reagan at the White House. Bill also loved football, he was a defensive right tackle for Jefferson Davis High, which went on to win the state championship his senior year.
Bill went on to Princeton University his Freshman Year. After a bout with Guilian Barre Syndrome, he recovered and continued his studies at Auburn University, where he received his degree in Mathematics. While at Auburn he met his lifetime best friend who was like a brother to him, Mike Hietter. Bill for a time was also president of College Bowl at Auburn, a trivia competition with other colleges.
He was a brilliant man, his career as an embedded software engineer took him around the country working on projects that included first generation overhead projectors, first generations satellite internet, communications systems, fiber optics, parcel sorting systems, biomedical implants, cellular technology, and set top boxes.
Bill remained an avid reader his entire life; he also enjoyed competing in Atlanta area trivia games with his friends, a carryover from his love for scholarly and sports trivia. His biggest passion and fondest memories were of doing standup open mike nights, usually teaming up with his best friend Mike at places like The Red Light Café and Dad’s Garage in Atlanta. He was a member of improv comedy groups in both Atlanta and Washington, DC; and did some comedic podcasting with friends Lee Altman and Bob Kennedy. His scholarly dry wit and zingers made people laugh for many years.
When he was hit a second time with Guillian Barre in 2015, that left him paralyzed from the neck down. he had endure a very long and painful process of learning to walk again. After stoically beating the GBS back and returning to work in 2017, he was diagnosed with late stage throat cancer. He fought both like the superhero that he was, with grace, determination, humor, and his immense quiet inner strength, and just being Bill.
Bill is survived by his wife, Stephanie, of Alpharetta, GA; his father Ray Jones of Montgomery, AL; and a host of loving cousins, in-laws, and very good friends. He was preceded in death by his mother, Barbara Walker Jones.
Bill’s Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, May 25th, 2019 at 11 am in the chapel at Northside Drive Baptist Church, 3100 Northside Drive, NW, Atlanta, GA.
In lieu of flowers, Expression of Sympathy may be sent to:
Barbara Walker Jones Scholarship, University of Montevallo Foundation, Station 6215, Montevallo, AL 35215
Northside Drive Baptist Church – http://northsidedrive.org/giving/ Select Quick Give as a Guest