David Jewell Jones was born on May 4, 1931 to Jewell Joseph and Clara Mae Elliott Jones in Sheridan, Arkansas.  He attended Sheridan Schools and graduated with his class of sixty nine as their president in 1949.

He attended Henderson State Teachers College in 1949, and at the school year end, he married his childhood sweetheart, Betty June Pennington, she was 18 and he 19.  He stayed out of school for one year working for the Safeway Grocery chain, hated it and decided he must have an education.  They moved to Arkadelphia and got the night manager's job at the Arkadelphia Court Motel, owned by the Sturgis Family which provided a one room apartment.  David went to class in the morning, worked for Safeway in the afternoon and the two managed the motel at night.  Betty also worked at a drug store.  In addition, once a week, he would clean a doctor's ten room to pay the medical bills for the little boy they lost.  His name was David Stephen.

Upon graduation with a B.A. degree in speech and English and the fact that David's mother had told him he would be a good salesman, he went in search of a job.  However, no one would hire him for he had no experience, then Camden High School offered him a teaching position.  He would teach for three years, tenth grade English, eleventh grade speech and twelfth grade drama.  He sponsored the Junior Class, Future Teachers of America and Thespian Society.  Directed all the school plays, sold tickets at the football and basketball games for a grand total of $2,700.00 per year, however only made $2,100.00 his first year.  They lived in a Federal Housing project because of the low rent.  He loved teaching, claiming his entire life that it was the best job he ever had.

He was named Distinguished Alumni of Henderson, named March of Dimes citizen of the year, plus many other awards for public service.  David's University stated that he had assisted more than 30 students to attend college.

Seeing an ad in the paper that Channel Four was looking to hire a salesman, he applied and landed the job.  When the sales manager asked him why he felt he would be a good employee, he replied "because my mama said I would".

So he began his journey into a new medium, television, live and exciting, where the on-air people were stars.  He was privileged to meet many famous people, Tom Brokaw, Johnny Carson and many more.  He was friends with every governor starting with Orval Faubus.

In 1969 David became V.P. and General Sales Manager and in 1974 became President and Chief Executive Officer.  His boss of the television division over the company's seven stations said that if the station ever came for sale he would have first option. In 1982 on a sunny afternoon, his private phone rang, and it was Al Flanagan, the boss, telling him that the company was buying Minneapolis and he could buy Little Rock.  He was a director at Twin City Bank at the time and with the Chairman Terry Renaud's help put together a partnership including Jerry Jones, Mack McClarty, Larry Wallace, and purchased KARK-TV.  In the next five years they purchased ABC in Meridian, Mississippi and CBS in El Paso, Texas.  In 1988 they received an offer they could not refuse and sold the companies.

In 1974 a member of his family had an accident, and it took twenty minutes for an ambulance to arrive from their base nine blocks away.  With that experience he began a crusade, taking ten years to establish the Little Rock Ambulance Authority, MEMS.  He had to pass a state law establishing MEMS as a utility model giving exclusivity.  They now serve Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Maumelle, Sherwood, Cabot and Sheridan.  They call David the Father of MEMS and save an estimated 1,000 lives a year and have since 1984.  There is no finer ambulance company in the country and David was honored when the City of Little Rock named their new $12,000,000.00 MEMS Headquarters in his honor.

In retirement, he and son Randy and friend Jimmy Elrod began a new career in assisted living facilities.

David was blessed by his wife of seventy years, Betty Pennington Jones, deceased in 2020, and pre-deceased wonderful daughter Rhonda Gail Jones Goheen. Survivors include his son and daughter-in-law, Randy and Joyce; son-in-law, Robert; grandsons, Zachary McDonald and Andrew Jones; granddaughter, Ashley Erskine, great grandson, Max Erskine and great granddaughter, Emmy Jewel.  David was also predeceased by his sister Ruthelle.

Funeral service will be 2:00 PM at Geyer Springs First Baptist Church in Little Rock on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 with visitation is from 12:30-2:00 PM.

Services will be conducted ty MEMS Honor Guard.  In lieu of flowers, please gift the MEMS Foundation at 1121 West 7th, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201.

David would say "Thank You Lord, I had a great ride"