The Alumni Achievement Award was one more honor in a long list when Carole Cooke Jones received it in 1989, and the list certainly didn’t stop there. Most notably, Jones has been recognized with the Golden Acorn Award from the Spokane PTA Council, an Outstanding Service Award (with her husband, Barry) from the Washington State University Foundation, as the Junior League of Spokane’s “Outstanding Sustainer of the Year”, and was chosen as WSU’s “Mother of the Year” for ’77-’78. She and her husband, Barry, are Benefactors of the WSU Foundation.
Jones grew up in Spokane, Wash., and attended Lewis and Clark High School. After graduating in 1951, she came to Washington State College. Coming to WSC was a decision influenced by many factors, not the least of which was the fact that many of her high school friends had also chosen WSC. When asked about the hardest part of her time at WSC, Jones said “it would be adjusting to college life away from home initially”. She also has many fond memories of attending the school, including sorority life, student leadership, Homecoming, and the walk to Moscow, Idaho in 1954 after the Cougar’s first football loss to the Vandals in 29 years.
Although she got her degree in General Home Economics, the textile and interior design aspect of the major was what most interested Jones. Graduating in ’55, Jones became a homemaker, raising her three sons and volunteering extensively. She served on the 1974 Spokane Expo Board of Directors, The Board of Directors of the Spokane Club, (in fact, Jones was the first woman board member), the WSU Foundation Board of Trustees, the Glenn Terrell Presidential Scholarship Committee, the Future Spokane Board of Directors and Coordinating Committee, the Spokane Symphony Society Board of Trustees, and the Deaconess-Valley Healthcare Foundation Board.
Jones served as chairman of the Christmas Tree Elegance event for the Spokane Symphony, Lewis and Clark High School All-Class Reunion, Pi Beta Phi Advisory Committee (WSU), and as co-chairman of the Epicurean Delight 25th Anniversary Gala. She served as president of the Junior League of Spokane, Pi Beta Phi Alumni Club, Spokane Racquet Club, Lewis and Clark High School PTSG, and the Ronald McDonald House Board of Directors.
Student leadership played a significant role in preparing her for a career as a volunteer, Jones said. And being a Coug, which to her means remaining loyal to one’s alma mater and developing friendships which last a lifetime, has helped her lead a fulfilling life.