Walter Jones, 84; WWII veteran, commercial artist had love for watercolor painting

In the South Pacific during World War II, Marine Corporal Walter Anthony Jones served on the front lines as radio operator and combat artist in an antitank battalion of the First Marine Division. He was there for the American invasions of the Japanese-held islands of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu.

Back at camp, he would sketch the battle scenes, the triumphs and tragedies of his comrades as he had witnessed them. He turned many of his sketches into watercolors. Some he did right at the camp; others he painted when he returned from the war.

His work was so good that when Admiral Chester Nimitz made an inspection tour of the combat zone on Guadalcanal, he was presented one of Mr. Jones' s watercolors. Later, Mr. Jones would donate about 50 of his combat watercolors to the Marine Corps to exhibit in its national museum.

Mr. Jones, who never stopped painting even after his right arm was paralyzed by polio during the 1950s epidemic, died Aug. 5 of heart failure in Pleasant Manor Nursing Home in Attleboro. He was 84 and suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Since contracting polio when he was in his early 30s, Mr. Jones used weights and exercises to strengthen his right arm, but he never regained full use. The regimen did strengthen his hand, said his daughter, Virginia A. Davis of Foxborough. To paint, he would prop up his right arm with his left hand as worked at his easel.

To support his family, Mr. Jones worked as a commercial artist for greeting card companies. But his passion was painting New England scenes, flowers, waterfowl, and horses. He worked in different media, but he was primarily a watercolorist, and his work was widely exhibited in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. His work is held in many private collections in this country and in France, Australia, and Pakistan, his daughter said.

Mr. Jones was known for painting harness racing scenes at the New England Harness Raceway in Foxborough. He was given the Award of Excellence in Harness Racing Art at the Red Mile Track in Kentucky.

In the 1980s, Mr. Jones was invited by the Coast Guard to do paintings of its patrol and search-and-rescue operations. His daughter recalled how the Coast Guard would take him up in a helicopter and secure him with a harness, so he could take photographs from the copter's door. He would later paint his watercolors from the photographs.

''Walter was cool, calm, and collected," said retired Coast Guard Captain Roland W. Breault of Cape Cod, who flew him on some of the missions.

In 1983, Mr. Jones was a finalist in the Federal Duck Stamp Competition in Washington, and his submission was chosen to be part of a traveling exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of the stamp program.

Mr. Jones was born in Somerville and grew up in Everett. He had a natural talent for drawing, his daughter said, and at the age of 12, in 1933, his pencil sketch of an injured cowboy being guarded by his faithful horse won him a $1 prize in a Boston Globe contest.

Mr. Jones graduated from Everett High School in 1939. He then attended Massachusetts College of Art. He ''always did a lot of sketching," said his brother, Robert of East Boston. ''He loved the ocean and would go to the Cape and New Hampshire to paint."

Mr. Jones left college in the middle of his third year to enlist in the Marines with three high school buddies. He lost his hearing in one ear from the shelling, but he was the only one of the four to survive, his daughter said.

Finishing out his enlistment at Chelsea Naval Hospital, Mr. Jones met Phyllis Krueger, who was in a women's Navy unit. They married, settled in Melrose, and Mr. Jones did artwork for Rust Craft Greeting Cards Inc. of Boston from 1945 to 1949. In 1951 he decided to open his own art studio in Melrose, called Melgrove, which did illustrations for books and greeting cards.

Mr. Jones gave up his studio in 1953 when he was stricken by polio. Doctors gave him three years to live, his daughter said.

Mr. Jones never complained about anything, said a friend, George Lacouture of Woonsocket, R.I. ''He was a very sincere, laid-back individual who took his adversities and made the best of them."

Mr. Jones returned to Rust Craft and became its assistant art director. In 1965, he became art director at Paramount Greeting Cards in Pawtucket, R.I., and moved from Walpole to Attleboro and later to Woonsocket, R.I. He retired in 1986.

Mr. Jones continued painting every day, his daughter said, even after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about six years ago. ''Even in the nursing home," Lacouture said, ''I would see Walter doing sketches of trees from his window."

In addition to his daughter and brother, Mr. Jones leaves four sons, Mark O. of Dartmouth, Walter A. Jr. of Carlisle, Christopher J. of Leicester, and Jeffrey S. of San Antonio; his partner, Elaine Wotherspoon of Woonsocket; his former wife, Phyllis Krueger of Dartmouth; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Services were held. Burial with military honors was in Diamond Hill Cemetery in Cumberland, R.I.