Dr. J Benton Jones, Jr., 87, agriculture researcher, author and professor, died May 2, 2017 at his home in Anderson, SC surrounded by family and friends. Dr. Jones was Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia where he served 21 years until his retirement in 1989. Previously, Dr. Jones had served 10 years as Professor of Agronomy at the Ohio Agricultural R&D Center, Wooster, OH. Dr. Jones also served active duty in the US Navy and later in the Naval Reserves. Dr. Jones received his B.S. degree from University of Illinois in 1952 for agricultural science. Dr. Jones continued his education by earning his M.S. (1956) and Ph.D. (1959) degrees in agronomy from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Jones is the author of over 200 scientific articles and 15 book chapters plus has written four books in the field of soil analysis and plant nutrition. Dr. Jones was editor of two international journals related to his field and was active in several scientific societies. Later in his career, Dr. Jones was an active researcher and author in the field of hydroponics which continued after his retirement from UGA.Dr. Jones was an avid vegetable gardener which led to his design of a hydroponic system targeted to the consumer market. Dr. Jones was active in new media through his websites providing research material on hydroponics as well as producer of training videos on subjects such as growing tomato plants in greenhouse environments. In addition to Dr. Jones'life long career in agronomy and hydroponics, he was a competitive swimmer at the University of Illinois and with the US Navy. Dr. Jones was active in a variety of water sports throughout his life but mostly enjoyed sailing. He was often found sailing his catamaran on Lake Hartwell no matter the season. Dr. Jones is survived by a son, J. Benton Jones, III and his wife Susan; two daughters, Karin Poole and her husband Keith, and Kristin Joyner and her husband Raymond; a brother, Richard Jones and his wife Elaine; six grandchildren, Stephen Parten, Kristina Vernon, Holly Poole, Emory Poole, Marilynn Joyner, and Ray Joyner; and four great-grandchildren, Zoie, Adiella, Santiago, and Ariana. All of whom will greatly miss him. The family will have a private service to honor his distinguished career and his life as dad and granddad. A message of condolence may be sent by visiting www.mcdougaldfuneralhome.com. The McDougald Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Anderson, SC