The Life Story of Joanne B. Jones The beautiful life of Joanne Baker Jones, daughter of the late Arnold C. Baker, Sr. and Ruth L. Baker began on September 13, 1948, in New Haven, CT where she, and her brothers, Rodney Baker and Arnold C. Baker, Jr. lived before moving to Port Chester, NY. As a young child Joanne accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and became a member of Barry Avenue AME Zion Church in Mamaroneck, NY. During her formative years she attended Midland elementary school. Later, the Baker family moved to Rye, NY where she attended the Rye Junior/Senior High School.

Upon graduating high school in June of 1966, Joanne attended Howard University in Washington, DC.  While at Howard a classmate asked her to join her on a blind double-date. Little did she know that she would meet the love of her life on that day, Richard (Rick) E. Jones, Jr. After courting for close to three years, Rick asked for Joanne's hand in marriage. They wed in Washington, DC on January 10,1970. Out of that union, two sons were born, Richard (Rick) E. Jones III in August of 1970 and 5 years later Christopher Carl Jones in July of 1975.

After graduating from Howard University, Joanne began her employment at Gallaudet University in the Department of Safety and Security, then the President's Office and finally the Personnel Department where she held the position of Supervisor of Employment. Joanne worked at Gallaudet University for 40 years before retiring on June 30, 2014, as Manager of Staff Employment, Relations, and Development.

Joanne was not only a dedicated employee of Gallaudet University, but she was also committed to serving the deaf community of which she was now a part of.  In 1983 Joanne earned a master's degree in counseling the hearing impaired. Although by this time she was considered a highly effective Human Resources professional she used the skills she acquired in her counseling training to serve as a mentor/counselor to hearing impaired Black female students at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) and at the University.  Many of her mentees have continued to stay in touch with her throughout the years and would often spend the holidays with the Jones family.  This was the kind of giving spirit Joanne had.

Joanne and her husband Rick were active participants in several church ministries at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church. They were organizing members of the first Praise and Worship team. She sang in several choirs including the Mass Choir, Sanctuary Choir, the Women's Choir, and the Senior Choir. She served as a member of the Wendell P. Russell scholarship committee. She and Rick, with Malcolm and Clara Fowlkes and Rev. Alvin and Mary Phoenix established and led the MMBC Marriage Ministry. Joanne also organized the MMBC Sign Language Ministry. Joanne became an ordained Deacon in 2006 and at various times served as leader of Tribes #9 and #2. She was also the class-assistant for adult Sunday School Class # 4. Joanne was recognized as Matthews Memorial Baptist Church Woman of the Year in 2006. Serving her church and community generously was her labor of love.

Her love and joy were her Grandchildren. Nothing made her prouder than seeing their academic and athletic successes. One of her favorite things to do was take family vacations every summer to Hilton Head, SC with them. She was determined to visit there one last time and did so on August 3, 2024. Joanne was also the family photographer, chronicling family activities from informal family gatherings to major milestone events in the lives of family members. Joanne was also an avid amateur birdwatcher. She would sit for hours in her recliner watching birds and uninvited squirrels eat from her strategically placed bird feeders on the deck and in the yard.  Joanne was always seeking to bless someone with a kind word, food or even shelter.  To describe Joanne Jones as sweet, kind, gentle, compassionate, and warm would be an understatement; she embodied all this and so much more.

Joanne was preceded in death by her parents, Arnold C. and Ruth L. Baker, and her brother, Rodney "Butch" Baker, Sr. She is survived by her husband, Richard E. Jones, Jr.; her children, Richard E. Jones III (Funmi) and Christopher Carl Jones; her brother, Arnold C. (Ina) Baker II of New York, New York; her sister-in-law, Patricia (Ronald) Whyte of Wake Forest, N.C.; her brother-in-law, Rev. Kenneth G. (Cathy) Jones of Tuskegee, AL; and her grandchildren, Micah Jones, Adiya Jones, Selah Jones, and Caleb Jones, along with his mother, Lauren Powell. She also leaves behind her sisters-in-law, Helen Phillips and Brazellia Baker; nieces Rhonda Kelley (Brian), Angela Dockery (Greg), Wanda Fowlkes, Alafia Fowlkes, Karina Jones, Kyra Jones, Hauwa Turner, and Adabu Brownhill; nephews Malcolm Fowlkes (Kim), Rodney "Chip" Baker, Jr., and Kenneth G. Jones II; her beloved cousin, Vickie Harrison; her lifelong friend, Barbara McClam; and a host of other relatives and friends who will cherish her memo