Robert R. Jones Sr., 93, a statistician

Robert R. Jones Sr., 93, formerly of Warminster, a statistician who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II, died of Alzheimer's disease Saturday, Nov. 16, at Southampton Estates.

Mr. Jones was among the specialists and scientists who worked in secret to build the atomic bomb during World War II, he told the Hatboro Public Spirit in a 2004 interview.

Equipped with a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in statistics but unfit for military service due to a punctured eardrum, he initially went to work for the DuPont Co. in Connecticut.

After six months, DuPont sent him to what it called "a very important project" in Oak Ridge, Tenn. "We have places for guys like you," an Army physician who also worked for DuPont told Mr. Jones.

"He didn't question it. He said, 'Yes, sir,' " his son, David T., recalled.

Mr. Jones' job was to travel the country with a DuPont metallurgist, lining up sources of uranium that would go into a reactor for conversion to the plutonium needed for the bomb.

"I'd never seen anything like that before," Mr. Jones, told the Public Spirit.

In September 1944, Mr. Jones was deployed to Hanford, Wash., where a full-scale plutonium production plant was in operation.

"There were thousands of people out there, and security was fairly tight," he told the Public Spirit.

After receiving advanced statistical applications training in Chicago, Mr. Jones was responsible for testing the accuracy of the analytical methods being used in the project.

When the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, "we were quite happy about it," Mr. Jones told the Public Spirit. He was pleased that the war was ending, that the United States was spared from invading Japan, and that the teamwork on the Manhattan Project had come to fruition.

After the war, he rejoined DuPont's Remington Arms division in Bridgeport, Conn. He married Dorothy Batten and had two sons. In 1965, the couple moved to Meadowbrook and then to Warminster. She died in 1995.

Mr. Jones ran his own consulting firm. The company assisted many local businesses, including Sperry Unisys.

"He could quickly go in and tell them what was wrong, and what to do about it," his son said.

Mr. Jones also taught statistics and quality control for Drexel University and the Philadelphia branch of the American Society for Quality, of which he was a founding member.

Troubled by what he called a lack of respect for government, Mr. Jones entered municipal affairs. He joined Warminster's financial planning committee and led it for six years.

In December 2004, he moved to Southampton Estates, a retirement community in Bucks County.

Surviving, besides his son, are two grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; and a sister. A son, Robert R. Jr., died previously.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Southampton Estates Auditorium, 238 Street Rd., Southampton, Pa. 18966. Inurnment is private.

Contributions may be made to the Good Samaritan Fund at Southampton Estates at the address above, or the Alzheimer's Association, 399 Market St., Suite 102, Philadelphia 19106.