Thomas John Arthur Jones

Thomas John Arthur Jones, 77, of Las Vegas, died on Saturday, February 14, 2026. He was born on January 22, 1949, in Mitchell, South Dakota to Mary Llewellen (Kirkpatrick) Jones and Thomas Harold Jones. Tom grew up between Mitchell, Mount Vernon, and the Jones’ family farm in Stickney, South Dakota. He graduated from Mitchell High School in 1967.

Tom attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he majored in Theater. Throughout college, he spent his summers at the Black Hills Playhouse in Custer State Park. Post graduation he moved to Spearfish and tended bar at the Holiday Inn Spearfish.

He then moved to Las Vegas in 1981 to earn a second bachelor's degree in hospitality management from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). When he graduated, he enrolled in the master's program at the college. He became a graduate assistant, began his teaching career, and met his wife Terri Putterman Jones. Throughout graduate school and well into his teaching career, he was known as Mr. UNLVino, for his hard work and dedication to the annual scholarship fundraising event for the Hotel College.

He married Terri Putterman Jones in 1985. The couple has two children, Thomas Morgan (Jumana RushRush) and Mikayla Pearl. The couple also had two Yorkies, Lily and Rosie. Lily and Tom were inseparable.

Thomas earned a doctoral degree from the College of Education at Arizona State University in 1994. He taught at Grand Valley State College in Allendale, Michigan, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, and at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for a cumulative teaching career that spanned more than 40 years. Tom retired from the William F. Harrah Hotel College in 2015.

Tom enjoyed visiting the Black Hills of South Dakota and national parks in the United States and Canada. His favorite type of food was barbecue. He also enjoyed playing poker at the South Point Hotel and Casino, where he was a regular.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your favorite charity, The Black Hills Playhouse, Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, or The Animal Foundation of Las Vegas. Tom was an environmentalist who was concerned about plastic waste.

In honor of Tom, the next time you reach for a plastic water bottle, DON'T! Pick up a glass and fill it at the faucet or purchase cans of Liquid Death water to later be recycled. Adopt, don’t shop for animals.

A viewing and service will be held at Davis Funeral Home and Memorial Park at Eastern and Patrick (6200 S. Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89119) on Saturday, March 7, beginning at 3 p.m. 

A reception will follow the service at the Hampton Inn & Suites Las Vegas Airport (6575 S. Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89119).

A celebration of life will take place in South Dakota in the spring/summer of 2027; details will be announced at a later date.