Dedication of Gus Jones Conference Room in Vol Walker Hall Set for Oct. 26

Courtesy the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A conference room in Vol Walker Hall will be named in honor of the late Mary Elizabeth "Gus" Jones.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas will hold a dedication ceremony Thursday, Oct. 26, to name the fourth floor conference room of Vol Walker Hall in honor of the late Mary Elizabeth "Gus" Jones. She was the wife of Fay Jones, the namesake of the school.

The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. Thursday on the Sky Terrace of Vol Walker Hall, on the university campus. The community is invited to attend.

The Joneses' daughters, Janis Jones of St. Louis and Cami Jones of Austin, both made a gift to the school to have the room named for their mother.

Gus Jones (June 27, 1921 - Feb. 1, 2014) was born in Little Rock and raised in Hot Springs. She graduated from Hot Springs High School and attended Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.

She and Fay Jones married in 1943. She studied architectural drafting at the University of Arkansas in the late 1940s, and went on to direct the financial management of her husband's professional architecture office until his retirement.

A world traveler, she was invited to join the Taliesin Fellowship, Frank Lloyd Wright's live-work compound, along with her husband in the early 1950s. She later joined Fay as he conducted his Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome in 1981.

She served as a strong backbone to Fay Jones' growing professional practice, as well as a sounding board for his increasing global fame. She is remembered for her intelligence, strength and generosity.