Ryan Patrick Jones, 23, died on Tuesday, May 2, in Baghdad of wounds he suffered when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb. First Lt. Jones was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kansas. In 2005, Jones received a bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from WPI, where he distinguished himself as a student and community member.
Ryan Patrick Jones, 23, died on Tuesday, May 2, 2007, in Baghdad of wounds he suffered when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb. First Lt. Jones was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kansas.
Born on Sept. 13, 1983, Jones was the only child of Kevin and Elaine Jones. He grew up in Westminster and graduated in 2001 from Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School. At Monty Tech, he was co-captain of the football team, a member of the school’s National Honor Society chapter, and a Fitchburg Rotary Club student of the month. In his senior year, Jones received the Monty Tech Purple and Gold Award for being the school’s most positive role model.
In 2005, Jones received a bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from WPI, where he distinguished himself as a student and community member. A member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, he received the Class of 1879 Prize for excellence in his Humanities and Arts project, “Ministry: A Screenplay.” For his Major Qualifying Project (MQP), "Use of Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation for Structural Design of Pavements," Jones and his classmates evaluated the pavement at Moore Army Airfield and designed new pavement suitable for aircraft use.
"It is a terrible loss of human life, youth, energy and education," said Rajib Mallick, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and advisor of Jones’s MQP. "Ryan was always willing to help others, and he would help you in such a way that you didn't know you were being helped."
As a freshman at WPI, Jones joined the Army ROTC program on an Army Scholarship. He played a leadership role in many ROTC activities and events, including the Color Guard, Ranger Challenge, and Pershing Rifles. Following graduation, he continued to serve ROTC as a Gold Bar recruiter before reporting in August 2005 to his Engineer Officer Basic Course in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Read the full obituary for Ryan Patrick Jones as it appeared in the Boston Globe.
Funeral Arrangements
Calling hours for Ryan Jones will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 11, 2007, in the Westminster, Mass., Chapel of the Sawyer-Miller-Masciarelli Funeral Home, located at 123 Main Street in Westminster, Mass. (Map) A Funeral with full military honors will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2007, at Holy Spirit Church, 50 Lovewell Street, in Gardner, Mass. (Map) Interment will follow in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Ellis and Knower Roads, Westminster, Mass.
Ryan’s family requests that no flowers be sent. Memorial contributions be made to the Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones ROTC Memorial Fund, c/o Monty Tech, 1050 Westminster Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420.
