Allen Winston Jones

Date of Birth

March 17, 1946

Date of Death

April 3, 2012

City of Death

Santa Barbara

Allen Winston Jones passed away peacefully surrounded by family on April 3, 2012. He was born on March 17, 1946, the son of Susan and Arthur Jones.

He grew up in Palos Verdes Estates and then moved to Santa Barbara in 1966 to attend UCSB, where he earned a BS in Zoology and a minor in Chemistry. There he met Cheryl, his wife of 43 years. They settled in Santa Barbara and raised three children: Aaron, Heather and Matthew. In order to remain in Santa Barbara, an area he and Cheryl loved, Allen developed a multi-faceted career in Real Estate. He was a Real Estate Broker and co-founded Santa Barbara Real Estate & Investment Corporation. As a broker, he became experienced in all phases of real estate- commercial, residential, syndications and development. He enjoyed mentoring his trainees and assistants. Allen especially took pride in the development of the award-winning Plaza Linda Vista commercial building on State Street.

He valued helping others and his community, volunteering his time with many organizations. He was an active member of the Jaycees for many years, and helped put on their annual Community Fair. He also spent many hours volunteering at the Santa Barbara Zoo, which earned him a lifetime membership. Allen had a youthful, energetic spirit which led him to being a Cub Scout leader, to coaching and refereeing youth soccer for 13 years, and to being a fundraiser for the YMCA and summer camp leader on trips to Yosemite. Later on, he was involved with Boys to Men mentoring network.

Allen lived his life with gusto and constantly tried new things. He had managed, coached and played in adult and senior soccer teams since 1978. He was an accomplished sailor and raced on a team for several years. Later in life, he felt a strong sense of community through his participation in the Unitarian Society and the Mankind Project. His passion for travel took him to such places as Thailand, Costa Rica and Eastern Europe. He loved museums, plays, movies, good food and gardening. He was happiest being in nature and had backpacked in the Sierras in his youth.

Allen felt though, that his most significant achievement of all was being “papa” to his seven grandchildren- spending time with them and sharing his love of life and adventure was his greatest joy. Allen fought a courageous battle with cancer and lived life with enthusiasm up until the end. On the day before he entered the hospital, he was doing what he loved best- spending time with his grandchildren. His previous day’s adventures included a trip to the Chabot Science Museum in Oakland, where he shared his love of science with them, and then to Fenton’s ice cream parlor, where he shared his love of desserts.

Allen is survived by his wife Cheryl, son Aaron and wife Emily, from Portland, daughter Heather and husband Barry from Oakland, son Matthew from Santa Barbara, and his sister and brother- Katherine Starr and her husband Sherman, from Santa Barbara, and Gifford Jones and wife Mary, from Seattle, in addition to his seven grandchildren.

The celebration of Allen’s life will be at the Unitarian Society at 1535 Santa Barbara St. at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 18, 2012. Donations can be made to the Cancer Society of Santa Barbara.

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