Hampton, CT—William "Andy" Anthony Jones, 61, of Hampton, CT, peacefully passed away on January 25, 2020, with his family at his side after an extended illness. He was born February 12, 1958, in Raleigh, the only son of Betty Kennedy Jones and Charles William Jones. He was raised in Fayetteville and truly loved his home state. He was a starting point guard in high school and college and passed on his love of basketball to both his sons.

He received a BA in 1980 from St. Andrews College in Laurinburg and an MFA in 1982 from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. He came to Connecticut in 1988. While he was primarily an oils and watercolors landscape painter, Andy could do anything. He was an illustrator, a printmaker, a designer, a builder. He fixed cars, stretched his own canvases, turned sugar maple sap into liquid gold, and built his home painting studio. Since 1990, Andy was an art professor at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, CT, where he cultivated lasting relationships with many of his students. He designed the Connecticut state quarter, issued in 1999.

Andy is survived by his wife, Deborah Grant Jones, of Hampton; his three children, Lydia Jones Hall and her husband, Matthew, of Norwich, CT, Sam Jones of Seattle, and Will Jones of Hampton; his parents, Betty and CW Jones, of Fayetteville; his three sisters, Kristy Jones Overton (Teddy) of Aberdeen, Melinda Jones Spell (Mike) of Fayetteville, and Jeanne Jones Wright (Johnny) of Myrtle Beach, SC; his two nephews, Jonathan Overton and Johnny Clint Wright; and many close cousins throughout NC. Andy's sister-in-law, Jude Grant, helped to care for him and the family is very grateful for her presence in his life.

A memorial service will take place in North Carolina in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a scholarship fund that Andy established for promising art students at Eastern: The ECSU Foundation, Inc. (note "Andy Jones Scholarship" in the memo line), 83 Windham St., Willimantic, CT 06226.

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fayettevilleobserver/obituary.aspx?n=william-anthony-jones-andy&pid=195217318