Charles E. Jones
Charles “Bud” E. Jones was an associate judge on the Arizona Supreme Court. He served from 1996 to 2002 and then served as Chief Justice of the court from 2002 to his retirement in 2005. Previously he was with the firm Jennings, Stouss, Salmon & Trask and was head of their labor and employment division. From 1994 to 1998 he was the National Chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. He served on the J. Reuben Clark Law School and University of Arizona Law School Boards of Visitors. Jones also served as Avocat du Consulat-General de France (Lawyer of the Consulate General of France) to the French Consulate in San Francisco.
After his retirement, he worked as a mediator and arbitrator and was an adjunct professor at Arizona State University. He volunteered for four years as co-chair of the Arizona 2012 Centennial Celebration.
Jones was born on June 12, 1935, in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. His father died when he was four years old and he was raised by his widowed mother as an only child. During his childhood and teens, he excelled in academics, athletics, and music, becoming an accomplished scholar and pianist. He enjoyed playing ice hockey, basketball and was on a championship curling team. He spent several summers at the Banff Academy of Music, mastering the classics.[1]
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and received a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford University. He served as a clerk on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The numerous awards he received include ... The Alumni Distinguished Service Award from BYU; The Feuerstein Award for Ethics in Industrial Relations; The University of Arizona Public Service Award; The State Bar of Arizona Career Achievement Award; The Arizona League of Women Voters "Chapman Award" for defense of an independent judiciary; The Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Distinguished Achievement Award; and The Arizona Interfaith Movement Golden Rule "Government" Award. He was listed in the Best Lawyers in America from 1983 to 1996.
He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as a young man served as a missionary in the French Mission, which encompassed France, Belgium, and Switzerland. From 1990 to 1993 he presided over the France Paris Mission. He also served in the Mesa Arizona Temple presidency for three years. He and his wife served as Church representatives at the United Nations in New York City for eighteen months.
Jones and his wife, Ann, were the parents of seven children, including journalist Ruth Todd. He died on December 20, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona.
