In Memory of Garth N. Jones
1925-2020

Dr. Garth Nelson Jones was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1925, and raised by a single mother after his father left the family during the Depression. He graduated from Utah State University in 1947 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science from the University of Utah. His career made him a student of Third World development for over five decades, mainly in South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin. He has lived for extended periods in Micronesia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Taiwan under the auspices of U.S. Interior Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State, Ford Foundation, United Nations, and the World Bank. His primary fields of interest are organizational theory and public policy analysis – especially in the areas of complex, irrigated agriculture and population programs. During his career, he has been a prolific author, publishing over 200 articles, monographs, and books on public policy and comparative administration with a focus on Pakistan and Indonesia, as well as numerous articles on Mormon history and culture. He was the founding Dean of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s College of Business and Public Policy, and in that role, he has worked closely with the municipality of Anchorage on management and budget issues, and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alaska Council of World Affairs. Jones believes in the power of supporting students’ academic dreams through scholarships. He began his own academic career with a $100 scholarship from Sears and Roebuck, which gave him the opportunity to escape rural poverty and attend Utah State. In 2017, he was honored by USU's College of Humanities and Social Sciences with the Friend of CHaSS Award. Garth passed away on July 1, 2020.

In 1950, Garth Jones married (Verda) Marie Clegg, who had been born in rural Roosevelt, Utah, in 1921 to Dolly and Luke Clegg. Her father, a successful educator and businessman who served as Utah State Senator and Provo City Commissioner, encouraged her interest in politics, and before her marriage, she was active in the Republican politics on both the state and national level. She graduated from Brigham Young University in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Instruction with a certification to teach social studies and history. Her marriage to Garth Nelson meant that Marie lived in very diverse and exotic locations throughout her life, yet she never forgot her rural Utah roots nor her love of America. In Pakistan, Marie taught the first university co-ed course at the University of the Punjab and instructed high level government officials at the National Institute of Public Administration. She was elected President of the American Women's Club, the most prestigious and visible position for American Women in Lahore, Pakistan. In that role, she frequently raised money for charitable projects. In each community where she lived she was very active in volunteer service and was well known for her charity and compassion. She regularly opened her home to Peace Corp volunteers living abroad, as well as to the destitute and misfortunate. In one case in Indonesia, she and Garth even assisted a family of lepers who came to their home begging for help. After she and Garth moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in 1973, she worked for twelve years as a circulation librarian. She was honored in 2006 by the BYU Department of Theater and Media Arts with a lifetime community service award.  Marie passed away on November 4, 2010.

To remember Garth, donations can be made to a scholarship fund established in the family’s name.  Please make donations to Utah State University, Garth N & Verda M Clegg-Jones & Family Scholarship Endowment, 1590 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322, or clicking the donate button on this page. The endowment provides scholarships for USU students.

Click here to view Garth's obituary at Legacy.com