Woodstock, VT – A devoted reader, dog-lover, friend, husband, and father, Gerard Jones (Gerry) died on February 10th, 2026, at age 89. Sometimes right but never indecisive, Gerry was quick to answer the phone with an opinion on everything from the Yankees’ newest fielder, the 1923 collapse of the Ottoman Empire, or that day’s politics.
Born in 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Richard and Betty Jones, Gerry spent his early childhood years in Shaker Heights and Winnetka, Illinois. When he was 12, Gerry’s family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, where he learned to love history at Greenwich Country Day School and lace his skates on the pond beyond his house. In 1952, Gerry headed to Phillips Academy Andover for high school, where he dove into American History, sports, and leadership opportunities. He took advantage of a fortuitous vacancy on their ice hockey team; a Thanksgiving break spent deflecting pucks in football cleats prepared Gerry to return to Andover as a goaltender, a position at which he would excel throughout high school and college. Along with stopping 66 pucks in a record-setting game against St. Lawrence, Gerry became the first ACHA All-American in Ice Hockey at Yale before he graduated in 1959.
After Yale, Gerard enlisted in the Navy, where he served for two years, touring Southeast Asia on a minesweeper before attending Yale Law School. He met his soon-to-be wife, Emily (Graves) Jones, during the summer of 1963. They married in the summer of 1965 and moved back to Greenwich, where they raised three daughters.
Every morning for twenty-five years, Gerry hopped the pre-dawn train to NYC, where he was a founding law partner of Richards and O’Neil during the busy 1980s world of mergers-and-acquisitions. In 1990, he started his own firm, Arch Street Law, in Greenwich. Nights found him relaxing in front of a Yankee or Rangers game while shamelessly sneaking Ben and Jerry’s spoonfuls to the dogs at his feet.
In addition to planting daffodils and caring for his favorite dogwood trees, Gerry loved competing against his friends in tennis and golf, and in boisterous Sunday-morning touch football games, earning the nickname “Give-and-Go” Jones. His daughters (and many of their closest friends) count themselves lucky to have learned ice hockey from Gerry; from 1978 to 1990, Coach Jones pioneered the Girls’Ice Hockey program at the Greenwich Skating Club, encouraging young women to join the team and “play the body.”
The allure of living in Vermont full-time drew Emily and Gerry to Woodstock for their retirement. Watching the river from his deck, waving at neighbors, and having dinner outdoors with his wife and new friends brought Gerry great joy. In this phase of life, Gerry was also fortunate to realize long-held dreams of teaching history through Dartmouth’s ILEAD program. Gerry and Emily also immersed themselves in history by traveling. Whether exploring cathedrals in St. Petersburg, summiting mountains in France and Africa, or skiing in Utah, Gerry was invested–companions appreciated the knowledge he shared, and that, despite his enthusiasm, Gerry would be packed and “just ready to go home to his dogs” a few days before the trip was over. Gerry taught his daughters to support what they loved; his many volunteer positions included serving as a Trustee for Andover, a member of the Board of the Vermont Law School, and chairman of the Board of the Nature Conservancy of Vermont.
Of all these jobs and roles, however, few rivaled being a grandfather. When his seven grandsons would come to Vermont, Gerry was there, ready to babysit, host a holiday, ask about each boy’s classes, friends, and interests, and chef up crispy, crepe-like pancakes. One lifelong friend described Gerry as “one with rare emotional intelligence, someone who could connect people both personally and professionally. He was always cheerful–optimistic, almost to a fault.” Another noted, “he was the consummate friend, as loyal as a Labrador.” Gerry was an organizer, always there for everyone. He will be greatly missed.
Gerry is survived by his daughters, Ginna (Anders Halverson) and Leila (Nick Shields), and by seven grandsons: Will, Charlie, and Toby Halverson; Theo, Henry, and Cyrus Shields; and Spencer Jones. He was predeceased by his daughter, Cathy Jones (Dave White), and his wife, Emily Jones. A service will be held at 2:30 pm on Friday, April 24, at St. James Episcopal Church (2 St. James Place, Woodstock, Vermont).
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