The Philadelphia Inquirer
December 5, 2003
Jeannette M. Jones | Educator, 90
Jeannette Maiden Jones, 90, of Moorestown, a longtime educator, librarian and advocate for the use of multimedia equipment in the schools, died of heart failure Nov. 17 at the Evergreens retirement community in Moorestown.
She lived in Medford for many years before moving to Moorestown eight years ago.
Mrs. Jones believed that students could benefit from a library that offered more than books. She believed that all kinds of tools, including films and videos, could enhance children's education, and she devoted much of her career to providing those tools to the students of Moorestown.
She campaigned to raise local, state and federal money that paid for the construction of a state-of-the-art media center at Moorestown High School. Inside were films, video and audio tapes, and individual cubicles where students could do their research.
"She wanted the library to be more than just a quiet, static place," her granddaughter Jeannette Hunt Spina said.
In 1935, Mrs. Jones, a graduate of the Stevens School in Germantown, received a bachelor's degree in English from Hood College in Frederick, Md., and later earned a master's degree in library science from the Drexel Institute of Technology.
She married H. Randolph Jones in 1935.
Mrs. Jones began her career at the Stevens School, working as a librarian, editing a parents publication, and leading a book discussion group. She then taught English and worked as a librarian at schools in Woodstown, Collingswood and Clementon before joining the staff of Moorestown High School in 1965.
The media center opened in 1969. She retired in 1981.
Mrs. Jones was a member of organizations including the Colonial Dames, the Women's Club of Moorestown, and Beta Phi Mu, a library science honor society.
Her husband died in 1991. She is survived by sons H. Randolph Jr. and A. Eric, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
Services and burial were Nov. 22.
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The Burlington County Times
November 30, 2003
JEANNETTE M. JONES
Jeannette M. Jones, long-time educator and an early advocate for the use of multi-media in schools, died, age 90, on Monday, November 17 in Moorestown, New Jersey at the Evergreens Retirement Community.
It is fitting that, after many years of residence in nearby Medford, Mrs. Jones lived her final years directly across the street from the Moorestown High School. It was there, in 1969, that Mrs. Jones oversaw the opening of what was at the time called "the best Media Center in New Jersey" by the New Jersey State Library Department. Through her successful campaign to raise local, State and Federal funds, Moorestown was able to finance the building of what became a "Model Demonstration Site" for public high school use of media in the US. The library or Media Center as she called it, attracted visits from educators, librarians, and media coordinators from throughout New Jersey the US, and from as far away as Japan.
Jeannette Jones balanced her family and professional life with active commitments to, and leadership roles in a wide number of organizations including The Colonial Dames, XVII Century, The Daughters of the American Revolution, Woman's Club of Moorestown, and Beta Phi Mu, the library science honor society.
Born in Philadelphia on August 18, 1913, the former Jeannette Blackwood Maiden, daughter of Orlando Crease Maiden and Irma Brelsford Fogg Maiden, attended the Miss Knights School and graduated in 1931 from the Stevens School, both in Germantown, Pennsylvania, prior to receiving her undergraduate degree in English from Hood College in Frederick, MD in 1935. She was married to H. Randolph Jones, her husband of 55 years. Mr. Jones, who was a graduate of the William Penn Charter School in Germantown, died in 1991.
Beginning her work in education in 1947 as a Librarian at her former school, The Stevens School, Mrs. Jones went on to hold teaching and library positions at schools in Woodstown, Clementon, and Collingswood prior to joining the staff of Moorestown High School.
Mrs. Jones is survived by her two sons, H. Randolph Jones Jr., of Hopewell,
Virginia and A. Eric Jones, of London, England. Her daughter, Susan J. Hunt, had
preceded her mother's death in 1977. Her seven grandchildren are Susan Hunt LeMay, of Novato, CA, Jeannette Hunt Spina of Washington Township, NJ, Allen Scott Hunt of Barrington, NJ, Rebecca Jones Redling of Hopewell, VA, Paula Elizabeth Jones of Richmond, VA, H. Randolph Jones III, of New Burn, NC, Dominique Sayre Jones of London, England. Her six great grand children are, Alexander Scott Hunt-Sampolski of Novato, CA, Angelica Rose, Samantha Rene, Miranda Rachel Spina, all of Washington Township, NJ, Paul Alexander and Susanne Elizabeth Redling of Hopewell, VA.
The Reverend Cannon James E. Purdy of Moorestown conducted a burial service prior to the internment at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA.
