Selma and Dallas County recently lost a long-time businessman and local icon.

Roy Stanley Jones Sr. passed away on May 3.

Roy was one of four businessmen who founded Bush Hog Manufacturing in 1952, and also owned and operated Jones Oil Company as well as the convenience stores that bear his name — Mr. Roy’s.

Alan Jones, Roy’s son, said his father was a great businessman and someone who always looked to help others.

“He was a good business man, very smart and just a sweet person,” Alan said. “He did things for people in the community that nobody knows about, and did a lot of things for people that needed help. He was always there to do what he could to help them financially or places to live or whatever. He’s done a lot of that.”

Alan said his father’s impact could be felt through his contributions over the years to Bush Hog and his dedication to his church and the community.

“He was one of the founders of Bush Hog and, of course, you know the impact that Bush Hog has had on the community over the last 60 years as far as jobs and everything,” Alan said. “He was just a very kind person and he loved his church at Crosspoint Christian Church, and was just involved in the community in a lot of things. He was always on hospital boards, the airport board out there, just real community-oriented.”

Alan said everyone knew his father as “Mr. Roy,” and that just seemed like a natural fit to name the convenience stores.

“Everybody that ever met my daddy … they would call him Mr. Roy,” Alan said. “And that’s the way it’s been all his life as far as I can remember. No matter if it was a short period of time that you spent with him or if you just walked out of his office 15 minutes after meeting him, everybody called him Mr. Roy. So, when we got in the convenience store business, it was just a natural fit that they’d all be called Mr. Roy’s convenience stores because everybody that ever knew him, that’s what they called him.”

Before his career in business, Roy was a member and survivor of the 370th Bombardment Squadron in World War II, and his dedication to flying for his country eventually budded into his hobby of flying.

Scott Patterson, a friend of Roy’s, said he was a gifted pilot and a great friend.

“He had an airplane and I had an airplane, and we flew together and I flew with him some. He loved to fly, he was an excellent pilot and he was a natural pilot,” Patterson said. “He was just a really nice gentleman and I can’t say enough nice things about him. I enjoyed flying with him and he was one of the airport guys.”

Above all, Alan said he’ll remember his father as someone who was deeply devoted to his family.

“I guess, the thing I’ll remember the most about him is how much he loved his family,” Alan said. “His kids, his grandkids, his great grandkids — he just loved everybody. He was just a good man.”