Cable pioneer Glenn R. Jones died on Tuesday. He was 85.

Jones founded Jones Intercable, which grew to be one of the 10 largest cable operators in the country, in 1967 in Georgetown after borrowing $400 against his Volkswagon. Although his company sold in 1999 to Comcast, he was active for decades in the cable, distance education, training and entertainment fields.

A 1961 graduate of the University of Colorado Law Schol, Jones launched his career representing cable companies that were buying other cable companies. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District in 1964 and then turned his attention back to cable acquisitions, eventually purchasing the small mountain company. He was the first cable operator to organize public limited partnerships to raise money to purchase cable franchises, eventually raising more than $1.2 billion in capital. A few years after selling to Comcast, he bought NCTI and formed Jones/NCTI, a company based in Centennial, to train cable technicians and customer service representatives.

“On behalf of the Jones International team, I am deeply saddened to share that Glenn R. Jones passed away this morning,” said Jones/NCTI CEO Stacey Slaughter in a statement. “Glenn was a man before his time. He transformed the communications, information, entertainment and educational landscape by bringing cable television into millions of American homes. … While the word visionary is often overused, it’s a perfect description for Glenn.”

Last month, Jones joined the ranks of the Living Legends, a Library of Congress program to recognize prominent public figures and entertainers who made significant contributions to the nation’s culture, joining Ray Charles, Walter Cronkite, Johnny Cash and Big Bird. He was recognized for decades advancing education and helping expand access to the collection of the Library of Congress.

“It has been my life’s passion to make education accessible to more people and I am humbled to join the list of Living Legends who have contributed to our American way of life,” Jones said at the ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Jones earned his undergraduate degree from Allegheny College and served five years in the Navy before entering law school. He served on the Board of Trustees for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the board of the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was honored with the 2012 Community Enrichment Award by the Mizel Museum.

Services are pending.