Jim W. Jones, longtime religion writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, died early Sunday, May 3, 2015 in Fort Worth. He was 79.
Mr. Jones was hired at the Star-Telegram on February 4, 1957, and retired on December 31, 2000. He continued free-lance writing during his retirement. In October he interviewed former President Jimmy Carter during his visit to Fort Worth on a Habitat for Humanity project. His last story in the Star-Telegram on March 3 dealt with a court ruling involving the Episcopalians.
"The Star-Telegram family was saddened to hear the news about Jim," said Star-Telegram Executive Editor Jim Witt. "There was no finer person to have ever written a word here. He was as admired for his upbeat attitude as he was for his excellent reporting throughout the years. Readers will miss seeing his byline, and we'll miss someone who was truly our friend."
Toby Druin, the retired editor of The Baptist Standard, the Texas Baptist newspaper, said: "He and I covered the Southern Baptist Convention debacle together. I knew him as a guy of absolute integrity. He brought no spin. He was a great, solid reporter and a prince of a guy to be around."
One of 11 children, Mr. Jones was born to John Roy Jones and Nanny Vera Kilcrease Jones on May 20, 1935, in the Lindale community in Montague County, outside Bowie. His birth certificate simply said "Baby Boy" Jones. But his parents named him Jimmy Wayne Jones. "Kids born in the country didn't always have birth certificates," said Wayne Turner of Copperas Cove, one of his oldest friends. "That was pretty common back then."
Mr. Jones was a popular student who worked his way through high school, friends and siblings recalled. He was valedictorian of the class of 1953 at Bowie High School and he was the sixth man on the state championship basketball team.
At the Bowie Dairy Queen, a photo of the 1953 team still hangs on the wall.
"He was just a great friend," said Max Taylor, who knew Mr. Jones since the fourth grade.
His older sister, Patsy Wadsworth of Iowa Park, remembers her younger brother publishing his own newspaper in the basement of the family home and, when he reached high school, becoming editor of Maroon and White, the high school newspaper. It was also important to him that he make good grades. He told me one reason he wanted to do well in school was because people liked you better, Patsy Wadsworth said.
His younger brother, Eddie Jones, also of Iowa Park, remembers Mr. Jones running an extension cord to the basement where he spent hours reading. Eddie Jones doesn't know what sparked his brother's interest in journalism but recalls that their father, who had only a fifth-grade education, was an avid reader who subscribed to the Star-Telegram and loved to discuss politics.
He attended Arlington State College for one year (now the University of Texas at Arlington) before transferring to North Texas State College in Denton (now the University of North Texas) where he double-majored in English and journalism. He graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree on January 30, 1957. He later served on the board of directors for the UNT Alumni Association. In 1967 Mr. Jones earned a master of arts degree in English from Texas Christian University. He would also go on a fellowship to Oxford University in England in 1999. He was honored by the Providence, Rhode Island - based First Baptist in America in April 2002 for fostering religious freedom. A month after college graduation, Mr. Jones was hired as a full-time Star-Telegram reporter. He covered the police beat and city council meetings, and throughout his career he could be called upon for any reporting assignment. In July 1982, he happened to be in New Orleans when a jetliner crashed, so he helped cover the story. He was sent to Houston in the late 1970s to help cover one of the Cullen Davis trials. But in 1978, he began covering religion full time, and that's what he will be remembered for. At a time when most newspapers printed local church notes and pleasant church feature stories, Mr. Jones dug deeper.
Former metro editor and columnist Katie Sherrod knew Mr. Jones both as a colleague at the newspaper and later when she became a spokeswoman for the Episcopalians who stayed with the national church. "He would ask questions until he got it," Sherrod said. "I didn't worry when I took a call from Jim." As an editor, Sherrod said, she trusted Mr. Jones to get it right. "Matters of faith require a delicate touch," Sherrod said. "Jim could walk that line better than most."
Mr. Jones married Carol Davis Savage July 7, 2007. During their courtship, the couple went dancing six nights a week as part of a singles group at First United Methodist Church, she recalled. The couple traveled to Greece and Turkey on a tour led by the Rev. Lamar Smith, associate pastor of First United Methodist and the minister who officiated at their wedding. "He had such a clear understanding of the reasons the places were important even though he had not been a Bible student," Smith said. "Every place he went, he learned about the early Christians that made those places famous." In a May 31, 2008, column about the trip, Mr. Jones wrote about how his interest in the Apostle Paul fueled his desire to see the world. "Paul, perhaps the greatest spreader of the Christian faith, may have gotten me addicted to travel," Mr. Jones wrote. "When I was growing up in Bowie, I pored over maps I saw in Sunday school, which traced Paul's four missionary journeys. I imagined traveling to those faraway places. He was always attentive and asked good questions," Smith said. "He had a faith, too, that he wanted to expand and grow."
Survivors include his wife, Carol Davis Jones, a brother Eddie V. "Ed" Jones and sister Patsy Ruth Jones Wadsworth.
Mr. Jones has donated his body for medical research to Baylor University. A memorial service at First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth is pending.
Mr. Jones was hired at the Star-Telegram on February 4, 1957, and retired on December 31, 2000. He continued free-lance writing during his retirement. In October he interviewed former President Jimmy Carter during his visit to Fort Worth on a Habitat for Humanity project. His last story in the Star-Telegram on March 3 dealt with a court ruling involving the Episcopalians.
"The Star-Telegram family was saddened to hear the news about Jim," said Star-Telegram Executive Editor Jim Witt. "There was no finer person to have ever written a word here. He was as admired for his upbeat attitude as he was for his excellent reporting throughout the years. Readers will miss seeing his byline, and we'll miss someone who was truly our friend."
Toby Druin, the retired editor of The Baptist Standard, the Texas Baptist newspaper, said: "He and I covered the Southern Baptist Convention debacle together. I knew him as a guy of absolute integrity. He brought no spin. He was a great, solid reporter and a prince of a guy to be around."
One of 11 children, Mr. Jones was born to John Roy Jones and Nanny Vera Kilcrease Jones on May 20, 1935, in the Lindale community in Montague County, outside Bowie. His birth certificate simply said "Baby Boy" Jones. But his parents named him Jimmy Wayne Jones. "Kids born in the country didn't always have birth certificates," said Wayne Turner of Copperas Cove, one of his oldest friends. "That was pretty common back then."
Mr. Jones was a popular student who worked his way through high school, friends and siblings recalled. He was valedictorian of the class of 1953 at Bowie High School and he was the sixth man on the state championship basketball team.
At the Bowie Dairy Queen, a photo of the 1953 team still hangs on the wall.
"He was just a great friend," said Max Taylor, who knew Mr. Jones since the fourth grade.
His older sister, Patsy Wadsworth of Iowa Park, remembers her younger brother publishing his own newspaper in the basement of the family home and, when he reached high school, becoming editor of Maroon and White, the high school newspaper. It was also important to him that he make good grades. He told me one reason he wanted to do well in school was because people liked you better, Patsy Wadsworth said.
His younger brother, Eddie Jones, also of Iowa Park, remembers Mr. Jones running an extension cord to the basement where he spent hours reading. Eddie Jones doesn't know what sparked his brother's interest in journalism but recalls that their father, who had only a fifth-grade education, was an avid reader who subscribed to the Star-Telegram and loved to discuss politics.
He attended Arlington State College for one year (now the University of Texas at Arlington) before transferring to North Texas State College in Denton (now the University of North Texas) where he double-majored in English and journalism. He graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree on January 30, 1957. He later served on the board of directors for the UNT Alumni Association. In 1967 Mr. Jones earned a master of arts degree in English from Texas Christian University. He would also go on a fellowship to Oxford University in England in 1999. He was honored by the Providence, Rhode Island - based First Baptist in America in April 2002 for fostering religious freedom. A month after college graduation, Mr. Jones was hired as a full-time Star-Telegram reporter. He covered the police beat and city council meetings, and throughout his career he could be called upon for any reporting assignment. In July 1982, he happened to be in New Orleans when a jetliner crashed, so he helped cover the story. He was sent to Houston in the late 1970s to help cover one of the Cullen Davis trials. But in 1978, he began covering religion full time, and that's what he will be remembered for. At a time when most newspapers printed local church notes and pleasant church feature stories, Mr. Jones dug deeper.
Former metro editor and columnist Katie Sherrod knew Mr. Jones both as a colleague at the newspaper and later when she became a spokeswoman for the Episcopalians who stayed with the national church. "He would ask questions until he got it," Sherrod said. "I didn't worry when I took a call from Jim." As an editor, Sherrod said, she trusted Mr. Jones to get it right. "Matters of faith require a delicate touch," Sherrod said. "Jim could walk that line better than most."
Mr. Jones married Carol Davis Savage July 7, 2007. During their courtship, the couple went dancing six nights a week as part of a singles group at First United Methodist Church, she recalled. The couple traveled to Greece and Turkey on a tour led by the Rev. Lamar Smith, associate pastor of First United Methodist and the minister who officiated at their wedding. "He had such a clear understanding of the reasons the places were important even though he had not been a Bible student," Smith said. "Every place he went, he learned about the early Christians that made those places famous." In a May 31, 2008, column about the trip, Mr. Jones wrote about how his interest in the Apostle Paul fueled his desire to see the world. "Paul, perhaps the greatest spreader of the Christian faith, may have gotten me addicted to travel," Mr. Jones wrote. "When I was growing up in Bowie, I pored over maps I saw in Sunday school, which traced Paul's four missionary journeys. I imagined traveling to those faraway places. He was always attentive and asked good questions," Smith said. "He had a faith, too, that he wanted to expand and grow."
Survivors include his wife, Carol Davis Jones, a brother Eddie V. "Ed" Jones and sister Patsy Ruth Jones Wadsworth.
Mr. Jones has donated his body for medical research to Baylor University. A memorial service at First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth is pending.
Jim W. Jones, longtime religion writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, died early Sunday, May 3, 2015 in Fort Worth. He was 79.
Mr. Jones was hired at the Star-Telegram on February 4, 1957, and retired on December 31, 2000. He continued free-lance writing during his retirement. In October he interviewed former President Jimmy Carter during his visit to Fort Worth on a Habitat for Humanity project. His last story in the Star-Telegram on March 3 dealt with a court ruling involving the Episcopalians.
"The Star-Telegram family was saddened to hear the news about Jim," said Star-Telegram Executive Editor Jim Witt. "There was no finer person to have ever written a word here. He was as admired for his upbeat attitude as he was for his excellent reporting throughout the years. Readers will miss seeing his byline, and we'll miss someone who was truly our friend."
Toby Druin, the retired editor of The Baptist Standard, the Texas Baptist newspaper, said: "He and I covered the Southern Baptist Convention debacle together. I knew him as a guy of absolute integrity. He brought no spin. He was a great, solid reporter and a prince of a guy to be around."
One of 11 children, Mr. Jones was born to John Roy Jones and Nanny Vera Kilcrease Jones on May 20, 1935, in the Lindale community in Montague County, outside Bowie. His birth certificate simply said "Baby Boy" Jones. But his parents named him Jimmy Wayne Jones. "Kids born in the country didn't always have birth certificates," said Wayne Turner of Copperas Cove, one of his oldest friends. "That was pretty common back then."
Mr. Jones was a popular student who worked his way through high school, friends and siblings recalled. He was valedictorian of the class of 1953 at Bowie High School and he was the sixth man on the state championship basketball team.
At the Bowie Dairy Queen, a photo of the 1953 team still hangs on the wall.
"He was just a great friend," said Max Taylor, who knew Mr. Jones since the fourth grade.
His older sister, Patsy Wadsworth of Iowa Park, remembers her younger brother publishing his own newspaper in the basement of the family home and, when he reached high school, becoming editor of Maroon and White, the high school newspaper. It was also important to him that he make good grades. He told me one reason he wanted to do well in school was because people liked you better, Patsy Wadsworth said.
His younger brother, Eddie Jones, also of Iowa Park, remembers Mr. Jones running an extension cord to the basement where he spent hours reading. Eddie Jones doesn't know what sparked his brother's interest in journalism but recalls that their father, who had only a fifth-grade education, was an avid reader who subscribed to the Star-Telegram and loved to discuss politics.
He attended Arlington State College for one year (now the University of Texas at Arlington) before transferring to North Texas State College in Denton (now the University of North Texas) where he double-majored in English and journalism. He graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree on January 30, 1957. He later served on the board of directors for the UNT Alumni Association. In 1967 Mr. Jones earned a master of arts degree in English from Texas Christian University. He would also go on a fellowship to Oxford University in England in 1999. He was honored by the Providence, Rhode Island - based First Baptist in America in April 2002 for fostering religious freedom. A month after college graduation, Mr. Jones was hired as a full-time Star-Telegram reporter. He covered the police beat and city council meetings, and throughout his career he could be called upon for any reporting assignment. In July 1982, he happened to be in New Orleans when a jetliner crashed, so he helped cover the story. He was sent to Houston in the late 1970s to help cover one of the Cullen Davis trials. But in 1978, he began covering religion full time, and that's what he will be remembered for. At a time when most newspapers printed local church notes and pleasant church feature stories, Mr. Jones dug deeper.
Former metro editor and columnist Katie Sherrod knew Mr. Jones both as a colleague at the newspaper and later when she became a spokeswoman for the Episcopalians who stayed with the national church. "He would ask questions until he got it," Sherrod said. "I didn't worry when I took a call from Jim." As an editor, Sherrod said, she trusted Mr. Jones to get it right. "Matters of faith require a delicate touch," Sherrod said. "Jim could walk that line better than most."
Mr. Jones married Carol Davis Savage July 7, 2007. During their courtship, the couple went dancing six nights a week as part of a singles group at First United Methodist Church, she recalled. The couple traveled to Greece and Turkey on a tour led by the Rev. Lamar Smith, associate pastor of First United Methodist and the minister who officiated at their wedding. "He had such a clear understanding of the reasons the places were important even though he had not been a Bible student," Smith said. "Every place he went, he learned about the early Christians that made those places famous." In a May 31, 2008, column about the trip, Mr. Jones wrote about how his interest in the Apostle Paul fueled his desire to see the world. "Paul, perhaps the greatest spreader of the Christian faith, may have gotten me addicted to travel," Mr. Jones wrote. "When I was growing up in Bowie, I pored over maps I saw in Sunday school, which traced Paul's four missionary journeys. I imagined traveling to those faraway places. He was always attentive and asked good questions," Smith said. "He had a faith, too, that he wanted to expand and grow."
Survivors include his wife, Carol Davis Jones, a brother Eddie V. "Ed" Jones and sister Patsy Ruth Jones Wadsworth.
Mr. Jones has donated his body for medical research to Baylor University. A memorial service at First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth is pending.
Mr. Jones was hired at the Star-Telegram on February 4, 1957, and retired on December 31, 2000. He continued free-lance writing during his retirement. In October he interviewed former President Jimmy Carter during his visit to Fort Worth on a Habitat for Humanity project. His last story in the Star-Telegram on March 3 dealt with a court ruling involving the Episcopalians.
"The Star-Telegram family was saddened to hear the news about Jim," said Star-Telegram Executive Editor Jim Witt. "There was no finer person to have ever written a word here. He was as admired for his upbeat attitude as he was for his excellent reporting throughout the years. Readers will miss seeing his byline, and we'll miss someone who was truly our friend."
Toby Druin, the retired editor of The Baptist Standard, the Texas Baptist newspaper, said: "He and I covered the Southern Baptist Convention debacle together. I knew him as a guy of absolute integrity. He brought no spin. He was a great, solid reporter and a prince of a guy to be around."
One of 11 children, Mr. Jones was born to John Roy Jones and Nanny Vera Kilcrease Jones on May 20, 1935, in the Lindale community in Montague County, outside Bowie. His birth certificate simply said "Baby Boy" Jones. But his parents named him Jimmy Wayne Jones. "Kids born in the country didn't always have birth certificates," said Wayne Turner of Copperas Cove, one of his oldest friends. "That was pretty common back then."
Mr. Jones was a popular student who worked his way through high school, friends and siblings recalled. He was valedictorian of the class of 1953 at Bowie High School and he was the sixth man on the state championship basketball team.
At the Bowie Dairy Queen, a photo of the 1953 team still hangs on the wall.
"He was just a great friend," said Max Taylor, who knew Mr. Jones since the fourth grade.
His older sister, Patsy Wadsworth of Iowa Park, remembers her younger brother publishing his own newspaper in the basement of the family home and, when he reached high school, becoming editor of Maroon and White, the high school newspaper. It was also important to him that he make good grades. He told me one reason he wanted to do well in school was because people liked you better, Patsy Wadsworth said.
His younger brother, Eddie Jones, also of Iowa Park, remembers Mr. Jones running an extension cord to the basement where he spent hours reading. Eddie Jones doesn't know what sparked his brother's interest in journalism but recalls that their father, who had only a fifth-grade education, was an avid reader who subscribed to the Star-Telegram and loved to discuss politics.
He attended Arlington State College for one year (now the University of Texas at Arlington) before transferring to North Texas State College in Denton (now the University of North Texas) where he double-majored in English and journalism. He graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree on January 30, 1957. He later served on the board of directors for the UNT Alumni Association. In 1967 Mr. Jones earned a master of arts degree in English from Texas Christian University. He would also go on a fellowship to Oxford University in England in 1999. He was honored by the Providence, Rhode Island - based First Baptist in America in April 2002 for fostering religious freedom. A month after college graduation, Mr. Jones was hired as a full-time Star-Telegram reporter. He covered the police beat and city council meetings, and throughout his career he could be called upon for any reporting assignment. In July 1982, he happened to be in New Orleans when a jetliner crashed, so he helped cover the story. He was sent to Houston in the late 1970s to help cover one of the Cullen Davis trials. But in 1978, he began covering religion full time, and that's what he will be remembered for. At a time when most newspapers printed local church notes and pleasant church feature stories, Mr. Jones dug deeper.
Former metro editor and columnist Katie Sherrod knew Mr. Jones both as a colleague at the newspaper and later when she became a spokeswoman for the Episcopalians who stayed with the national church. "He would ask questions until he got it," Sherrod said. "I didn't worry when I took a call from Jim." As an editor, Sherrod said, she trusted Mr. Jones to get it right. "Matters of faith require a delicate touch," Sherrod said. "Jim could walk that line better than most."
Mr. Jones married Carol Davis Savage July 7, 2007. During their courtship, the couple went dancing six nights a week as part of a singles group at First United Methodist Church, she recalled. The couple traveled to Greece and Turkey on a tour led by the Rev. Lamar Smith, associate pastor of First United Methodist and the minister who officiated at their wedding. "He had such a clear understanding of the reasons the places were important even though he had not been a Bible student," Smith said. "Every place he went, he learned about the early Christians that made those places famous." In a May 31, 2008, column about the trip, Mr. Jones wrote about how his interest in the Apostle Paul fueled his desire to see the world. "Paul, perhaps the greatest spreader of the Christian faith, may have gotten me addicted to travel," Mr. Jones wrote. "When I was growing up in Bowie, I pored over maps I saw in Sunday school, which traced Paul's four missionary journeys. I imagined traveling to those faraway places. He was always attentive and asked good questions," Smith said. "He had a faith, too, that he wanted to expand and grow."
Survivors include his wife, Carol Davis Jones, a brother Eddie V. "Ed" Jones and sister Patsy Ruth Jones Wadsworth.
Mr. Jones has donated his body for medical research to Baylor University. A memorial service at First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth is pending.
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