Silas Mercer Noel Jones III

Silas Mercer Noel Jones III, known as Noel, died in the early morning of February 23rd at the Frankfort Regional Medical Center following a brief illness. He was 83 years old. A Celebration of Life will be held at South Frankfort Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. with Dr. Terry Lester officiating. Visitation will be held at South Frankfort Presbyterian Church from 12:30 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday. He was preceded in death by his wife, Judith Jones, his father, Silas Mercer Noel Jones Jr, his mother Pauline Hudson Howard, step-father, William R. Howard, Sr. his sister Pauline Polsgrove and his stepson Nathan West. He is survived by his sisters Jane Cammack (Wayne) and Mary Howard of Frankfort, brother William Howard (Denise) of Oakwood, Ohio, daughter Stephanie Rhodes (Bobby) of Frankfort, son Christopher Jones of Frankfort, stepson Matthew West (Dale) of Lexington, stepdaughter Lucy West Binnall (Brent) of Sagle, Idaho, grandchildren Zachary Rhodes, Benjamin Rhodes (Athenia), Sadie Rhodes, Micah Jones, Zella Jones, Nathaniel West, Jacob West, Lexy West, and great-granddaughter Brinley Marie Rhodes and great-grandson Noah Matthew Yasika. Noel was a graduate of Frankfort High School and earned his Bachelor's from Eastern Kentucky University and his MBA from Kentucky State University. His enlistment in the United States Army spanned two of the most momentous events of the Cold War while serving in Berlin, Germany. The first of these was the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 while he was posted at the infamous Checkpoint Charlie where the East Germans rapidly erected a gate and makeshift walls overnight as the beginning of the efforts to control crossings between East and West Berlin. The second of these major events was that he was present at the Glienicke Bridge, the Bridge of Spies, on February 10, 1962, when convicted Soviet spy Rudolf Abel was exchanged for American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was being held in the Soviet Union. He was previously employed by the Procter and Gamble Company of Cincinnati, Ohio and the Capital Plaza Authority in Frankfort before beginning his career with Occidental Petroleum, the company from which he retired and returned to Frankfort. While with Occidental Petroleum in 1985, he lived for three years in Ping Shuo, China, where he oversaw security during the development of the Antaibao coal mine in this remote area of the Mongolian Desert where he and his wife Judy made their home under very trying circumstances. Noel was known for his love of the outdoors and his lifelong hobby of keeping tropical fish. Although he never sought to be admired and respected, by his fine character throughout life he most-certainly achieved both things. Noel Jones, you will be deeply missed. Arrangements are under the direction of Harrod Brothers Funeral Home & Crematory.

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Silas Mercer Noel Jones III

March 15, 1940 - February 23, 2024