Clarence was born March 26, 1924, in Ardmore to Clisby and Gertie Jones and passed away Monday, October 12, 2020, at the age of 96 years, 6 months, and 16 days.

Clarence was raised northwest of Ardmore and attended a rural school, where even by his own telling, he spent most of his time outside the building hiding from the teacher in the fields or the trees. As a young man, he and his brothers saved up box tops and sent off for a fiddle, which they then taught themselves to play. Their band performed at outdoor picnics all over Oklahoma -- sometimes getting paid with fried chicken dinners. After he officially left school, he worked jobs over the surrounding countryside -- from cutting broom corn to working oil rigs and playing music. He met and married Mattie Royal in 1946 and they made their first home in Ardmore, moving across the country to California and back to Oklahoma as he worked in the oil fields and as a mechanic. They settled down in Hydro in 1961 with their three kids and he went to work for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation on the highways. Clarence and Mattie were members of the First Baptist Church of Hydro. Their house always had an open door and you never knew who you might find on the other side. They would welcome anyone with some homemade beans, a cup of coffee, and a place to sleep as long as anyone needed it. Clarence loved fishing and he taught all of his grandchildren and many of his great-grandchildren how to fish. He could remember fish he caught from the creeks and ponds of southeast Oklahoma to those he caught from the offshore oil rigs off the coast of California, and sometimes those fish grew several inches during the course of his retelling. He also loved playing the fiddle and listening to gospel music -- a love he passed down to his great-grandchildren. He was a great storyteller and with Clarence's stories you never knew how they might end. He had a great sense of adventure and enjoyed traveling well into his 90s, re-exploring familiar places like California and Texas, and discovering new ones like England. Most of all he loved spending time with his family -- both his relatives and the many others who came to know him like family. He was dad to many, and grandpa to countless others. Above all he was loved and loved all those around him.

Clarence is survived by two sons, Jerry Jones and wife, Ann of Shawnee; and Gary Jones of Weatherford; one daughter, Sherry Bozarth and husband, Ronnie of Weatherford; six grandchildren, Ranelle Carter; Amy Hintergardt; Mandi Bozarth; Misty McDermott; Jerad Jones; and Amber Payne; eighteen great-grandchildren; and five great-great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; three brothers, Lester, C.R. and Paul, and one sister, Clara.