The woman who led the way in fostering better German-American relations in the 1960s with the Kontakt program died Jan. 6 of natural causes in her home near Heidelberg, Germany.

A funeral for Jeanne Jones, 82, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the city cemetery in the town where she lived, Handschuhsheim.

Jones, who was also a public affairs specialist with U.S. Army Europe for about 30 years, was considered the mother of Kontakt, according to a statement issued by USAREUR. Kontakt clubs focus on bringing together American soldiers and local German citizens for cross-cultural activities. Jones wanted Germans and Americans to become better friends through cultural awareness, the statement said.

Jones was the original author of USAREUR Regulation 360-90, which covers Kontakt clubs in Germany. She also spearheaded the short-lived Cross-Cultural Program directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall that helped forge better relations between people living in the former East and Germans and Americans living in the West.

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