Cloudy, 27° F
(Aug. 19, 2009)
CJ Bigler Jones died Aug. 19 from acute septic shock in Lahabra, Calif., where he lived with his wife Amber Lynn (Canfield). CJ was born April 26, 1977 in Greybull to Fred Ray Jones and Edith Mae (Bigler) Jones.
CJ graduated from Burlington High School in 1996. He then attended Northwest College and graduated with an associate of science degree in chemistry. He attended the University of Utah for one year and then transfered to the University of Wyoming where he studied organic and general chemistry, earning his bachelor’s of science degree in 2002. CJ subsequently graduated with a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Southern California in 2008. He dedicated his degree to his wife and parents.
CJ’s love for learning and teaching brought him many awards, including outstanding teaching award for analytical chemistry at USC and outstanding performance as a teaching assistant, superior performance as an undergraduate chemistry major and the Glen B. Thein Award in Chemistry while attending the University of Wyoming. He was the president of the Northwest College affiliate of the American Chemical Society and coordinated the Powell community science circus.
CJ left his mark on the biofuel industry with five academic papers published in science journals and in “Angewandte.” He played a major role in designing the fastest AU-catalyzed methane to methanol conversion. During his graduate residency at USC, he studied rocket fuel propellants with research directed by his mentor, adviser and friend Karl O. Christie, Ph.D.
His hobbies included high-powered rocketry, fencing, hunting, fishing and spending time with his wife, Amber, who he married on May 28, 2005, in Orange County, Calif.
CJ and Amber were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He was preceded in death by his father, Fred Ray Jones; grandparents Isaac and Ida Jones and Orville and Elvira (Ella) Bigler; several uncles and aunts; and a nephew, Michael Chatwin.
CJ is survived by his wife; mother and step-father Bill and Edith Jones Johnson; father-in-law and mother-in-law Robert and Lynn Canfield; sisters Jean Marcus (Roy), Alice Chatwin, Janice Henry (Jonathan), Marcia Beabout, Anette Jones Quammen (Rene), Anita Olsen (Howard) and Debbie Anderson (Michael); brothers Brett Jones (Christine), David Lavine and Frank Lavine; 23 nephews; 20 nieces; four great-nieces; one great-nephew; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Funeral services for will be Saturday, Aug. 29 at 4 p.m. at the Burlington LDS Church. Graveside dedication will follow at Otto Cemetery.
Memorials donations can be made to his wife to help defray travel costs or to the Perpetual Education Fund of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Memorials can be sent to Thompson Funeral Home at 111 West Third St., Powell, WY 82435.
