Walter "Bud" H. Jones

February 27, 1927 - June 4, 2020

Walter “Bud” Jones, long time Caputa rancher, passed away on June 4, 2020. He was born on February 25, 1927 to Lawrence and Lois (Lobdell) Jones.

At the age of 19, Bud joined a ranch partnership with his dad which continued until Lawrence’s passing in 1968. He continued to ranch and add land to the operation. He prided himself in planting seven shelterbelts on the ranch.

Bud married Sonia Anderson on May 19, 1962. They were blessed with two children, Larry and Lynn. Larry entered into the ranch partnership in 1984, and later, son in law, Steve Schell joined. Bud retired in 1992 and turned the ranch over to “the boys”.

Bud loved ranch work, but always made time for family and fun. Many weekends were spent with the family at Angostura. He and Sonia enjoyed golfing and traveling with friends. They vacationed on several cruises, overseas trips and US excursions. Bud had an airplane which he flew to his Meade County ranch as well as flights to California. He also flew friends to places such as Minnesota and Denver.

Bud was a true family man and was the very proud grandfather to three granddaughters, Kelsey, Trista and Tiffany. He treasured every minute he was able to spend with his grandchildren. He had fond memories of his time with them, and especially enjoyed digging worms with Trista in her younger days. He was blessed to watch the girls grow into beautiful young women.

Bud was a member of the Elks Club and Masons for over 50 years, served on the Rapid Valley Water Conservancy District for 46 years, served on the Caputa School Board and was a Pennington Conservation District supervisor for many years. Bud was also a member of the Caputa Methodist church and later, the First United Methodist Church in Rapid City.

Bud was also a music lover. He was a member of the Caputa Methodist Church choir, the First United Methodist Church choir and was in the Shrine of Democracy Chorus for many years. He also enjoyed playing the organ and dancing.

Grateful for sharing his life are his wife of 58 years, Sonia, his son, Larry (Cami) Jones, his daughter Lynn (Steve) Schell and his grandchildren, Kelsey Jones, Trista Schell and Tiffany Schell.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Lois Jones, his sister, Barbara Eckert and brother in law, Warren Eckert.