Murel Jones Jr.

God saw that he was growing weary and in His infinite wisdom decided to call our beloved husband, father, brother, and grandpa home from labor to reward.

On Tuesday, April 2, 2019, Dr. Murel Matthew Jones, Jr., 70, of Chester, VA, entered into eternal rest and peace at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, VA.  Dr. Jones was the first-born son to the late Murel Matthew Jones, Sr. and Doris C. Dugger Jones on March 18, 1949. 

He was also preceded in death by his beloved siblings, Michael Darnell Jones and Barbara Jean Jones Walker.

Dr. Jones is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Rosemary Rice-Jones, children, Andrea Downs (Patrick) of Waldorf, MD, Murel Matthew Jones III (Jaime) of Chester, VA, Laura Jones of South Chesterfield, VA and Kenya Summers of Swansea, SC. Also left to cherish his memory are five grandchildren whom he adored, Amaya Jones, Malaki Stamp, Maryana Camper, Patrice and Andrew Downs. 

Left to honor his memory are his brothers, Melvin Jones (Debra) , Morris Jones and Phillip Jones (Audrey) all of Prince George, VA; one sister, Beverly McLaughlin (Wesley) of Petersburg, VA; sister-in-law, Linda Jones of South Chesterfield, VA; one aunt, Agnes Smith of Hopewell, VA; uncles, Charles Dugger of Ashland, VA, Alfred R. Jones of Pottstown, PA, John Jones, Ronnie Jones and Larry Jones all of Maryland, Charles Jones of Prince George, VA; along with a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.

Murel Jr. started his formal education in Petersburg Public Schools. For a brief time, he attended J. E. J. Moore High School in Prince George, then graduated from Peabody High School in Petersburg in 1967. Murel Jr.’s first year of college was at Virginia State University. He went on to earn a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science from Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN in 1971. Murel Jr. then continued his education by pursuing a master’s and doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from Howard University in Washington D.C. The subfields of his doctorate included American Government, Public Administration, International Relations and Political Theory.

Murel began teaching at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff before he returned to Petersburg to teach at Virginia State University as a professor of Political Science and Public Administration. During his tenure at VSU Dr. Jones served as Chairperson of the Faculty Counsel, Director of the Honors Program and Chairperson of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. In 1998 he was proud to be a recipient of the Spencer & Ruth Timm Outstanding Faculty Award. Murel retired from VSU after 32 years of impacting his students.


Other honors include the designation as one of the ‘intellectual offspring’ of Dr. Ralph Bunche, the first chairperson for the Howard University Department of Government. This honor was bestowed by the Government and Politics Journal, Howard University Department of Political Science.

While at VSU, Dr. Jones was involved in several special collaborations which included the first-year evaluation of the “City Lights Project – Jackson Ward Revitalization Project” for Capital One. He was a participant in the Dartmouth College/ Howard University Human Genome Project studying the Ethical, Legal, Social Implications for three consecutive years. While serving as the director of the Honor’s Program, VSU was selected as a model Honor’s Program by the National Collegiate Honors Council.

After retiring from VSU in 2008, he started a new career as the Dean of the School of Arts & Humanities at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, NC. Dr. Jones enjoyed five years of service and retired for a second time from ECSU in 2014.

After his retirement from ECSU, Murel started researching the history of local Churches of Christ and big data analytics. He spent hours upon hours creating Sunday School lessons based on his research for the Petersburg Church of Christ.

Murel was a happy person who always had a kind word or smile for all he met. He lit up a room with his messages-messages that were somehow always catered to you.  He considered all the people in his life, no matter how long or briefly he knew them, as a part of the mosaic which made his life interesting and meaningful.

Service will be held 11:00 A.M., Monday, April 8, 2019 at Gillfield Baptist Church, 209 Perry Street, Petersburg, VA, the Rev. Dr. George W.C. Lyons, Jr., Pastor.  The interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Park.

 

The family will receive friends from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M., Sunday, April 7, 2019 at the funeral establishment.

 

J.M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc., 102 South Avenue, Petersburg, VA, (804) 732-8911, www.jmwilkersonsince1874.com.