Community gathers to bid farewell to Mayor Reggie Jones

Longtime activist Anthony Shahid found a biblical passage fitting for Reggie L. Jones as family, friends and community leaders gathered Thursday to remember the longtime Dellwood mayor: “To whom much is given …”

Jones, Shahid said, lived up to those words through his work with the Herbert Hoover Club and Dellwood youth programs and by volunteering his time with Shahid’s Tauheed Youth Group.

“This brother did tremendous work, but he made it plain that he loved Black people,” Shahid said.

Jones, who died Aug. 21 at age 53, was remembered during services at New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church as a mentor, youth advocate, public servant, man of faith and devoted family man.

His family described him as a “devoted husband, father, brother, friend, deacon, mentor and a steady presence in the community he served for decades.”

“We will miss his voice. We will miss his stories. We will miss his humor,” the family said. “To each of you who gave our Reggie the opportunity to serve, lead, mentor, encourage and make a difference — we, his family, are eternally grateful.”

Speakers repeatedly returned to a common theme: Jones showed up for people.

“Reggie Jones really was the kind of leader we can all learn something from,” said James Clark, Urban League vice president of public safety.

Jones spent three decades with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, beginning at the Herbert Hoover Club in 1995 and eventually becoming its director. He later entered public service in Dellwood and became mayor in 2013.

The crowds outside told much the same story as the tributes inside.

A stream of police cars, government vehicles and first responders moved through St. Louis County streets as crowds of mourners gathered along the route. The procession stretched through the area for miles and stopped at Dellwood City Hall before continuing to New Sunny Mount on West Florissant Avenue.

Even before Shahid reached the funeral, he saw signs of the size of the farewell. Traffic was spilling onto the Interstate 70 exit at Lucas and Hunt Road as mourners made their way to the service.

Shahid marveled at the number of elected and government officials who attended the wake and funeral.

“It showed much respect for a beloved mentor, a man of God and a member of New Sunny Mount Baptist,” former St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said.

“It was well done,” Dooley said. “People spoke respectfully of his leadership in the community. It was a life celebration because he touched a lot of individuals.”

James T. Ingram, a St. Louis American columnist and longtime friend of Jones, said the ceremony “captured the life and spirit of Reggie.”

“I mean, the range of speakers — everyone from U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell to his children, to his oldest brother who is a bishop. … I mean, everyone that he touched seemed to be represented in the room.”

Bell presented Jones’ family with a flag flown over the Capitol.

“Anything that not only Dellwood, Ferguson, the St. Louis region needed, Reggie was always there,” Bell said.

Some of the most personal words came from Jones’ family.

His son Koby Jones read words he said he found on his father’s computer.

“May every father strive to build a legacy that strengthens his family, blesses his community and honors God for generations to come,” Koby Jones read. “Thank you and may God bless all fathers and families, written by Reginold Lee Jones.”

The final speaker, Jones’ brother Bishop Roger Jones, said the last “E” in his brother’s first name stood for “everlasting love.”

“It stood for the everlasting love he had for you and you and for you up there,” he said, pointing to different people at the ceremony.

Following the service, Jones was buried across the street at Calvary Cemetery.

Dellwood municipal leaders are consulting with the city attorney to determine the protocol and next steps for city government.

Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.