Essex County Freeholder Jones Dies, Great Sadness From Peers – Bloomfield, NJ Patch
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Lebby Jones, a longtime educator, community activist and current member of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, passed away this week.
Jones, an Irvington native, was elected to her first term as a freeholder at-large in November 2014. She was reelected to her post in November 2017.
Jones passed away after a brave battle with cancer; she was 75, Insidernj.com reported.
After hearing of Jones’ death, multiple Democratic party members issued statements of mourning in her memory. On Thursday, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said that the longtime community booster was one of the architects of the current revival in Irvington.
“I am saddened by the passing of Lebby Jones,” DiVincenzo said. “As a freeholder, councilwoman and educator, she had a lifelong legacy of public service and was truly dedicated to improving the quality of life for her constituents. With the late Bilal Beasley, Lebby helped lay the groundwork for the current revival in Irvington and served as a mentor for our next generation of leaders. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.”
“We have lost a phenomenal woman,” New Jersey Senator M. Teresa Ruiz said. “Freeholder Lebby Jones’s work in public service will forever live on. My prayers are with her family.”
The Essex County Democratic Committee also expressed “great sadness” at Jones’ passing.
“I’m going to miss my friend and road buddy,” one mourner wrote. “My heart is heavy for we have lost a true soldier in our fight for freedom and equality.”
According to her biography on the Essex County website, Jones previously served on the Irvington Municipal Council from 1994 through June of 2014, both as the south ward and then at-large councilwoman. During that time, she served on the council’s ad hoc, bonding and capital projects, healthcare and public safety committees, and also chaired its legal and sanitation/quality of life committees. She also served on the Irvington Board of Education as the board’s president from 1993 to 1994.
Jones was an active member of Franklin Saint John United Methodist Church of Newark.
But her contributions to the community don’t stop there, officials wrote:
“Additionally, she was a part of the following organizations: the Irvington Branch of the NAACP as a member and its President; President of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Committee of Irvington; the Laventhal Avenue Block Association; and Irvington Chapter of the National Action Network.
“Freeholder Jones enjoyed a 33-year career as an educator working as both a teacher and guidance counselor in Newark Public Schools. She [was] a former member of the American and Essex County Guidance Associations, and she served as a Shop Steward for the Newark Teachers’ Union.
“Freeholder Jones has been the recipient of numerous awards, honors and recognitions over the years, including: from Governor James McGreevey and Mayor Wayne Smith; Irvington Small Fry Community Service Award; Irvington High School Peer Leadership Program; Women’s History Month Community Service Award; Political Action Committee of Orange, East Orange, and Irvington Community Service Award; Determined to Achieve Parent Network for Community Service Award; lifetime membership with the NAACP; Newark Board of Education Service Awards; D. Bilal Beasley Civic Association Community Service Award; and the Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church Service Award, among many others.
“She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies from Claflin University in South Carolina, a Master of Arts degree from the School of Counseling and Social Work from Kean University, and graduate credits above the Master’s degree level in the field of Education. She was also certified in Elementary Education.”
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Photo: Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders
