The Reverend William Henry "Bill" Jones

The Reverend William Henry Jones, age 95, died January 27, 2025, in Toledo, Ohio. A Toledo resident for more than sixty years, Bill previously served in the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio and as a private counselor.

Bill was born June 23, 1929, in Tarpon Springs, Florida, to Arthur Horton (or Holton) Jones and Lotta Mai Bell Jones. He had an older sister, the late Gwendolyn Leonore Jones Allison. Bill and his family spent a year or two of his childhood in Swansea, Wales — his father’s hometown — but spent most of his youth in Arlington, Virginia.

Bill graduated in 1947 from Washington and Lee High School in Arlington. He continued his education at Ohio Wesleyan University, graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts in pre-theological studies. Bill received a Bachelor of Divinity from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1955, attended the Virginia Theological Seminary from 1955 to 1956, and then entered the ministry in the Episcopal Church. Forty years later — in 1996 — he received a Doctor of Ministry from the Ecumenical Theological Seminary (formerly the Institute for Advanced Pastoral Studies) in Detroit, Michigan.

Bill served in a variety of positions with the Episcopal Church in Virginia before accepting a position in Toledo in 1964 as an assistant to the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio. His formal title was Chaplain to the City and Theologian in Residence. The position’s duties varied over the years but generally involved working for change in urban systems that served poor and struggling people. Bill also often conducted services in the area’s Episcopal churches when their ministers were absent or their minister positions were vacant. Bill became involved in Alcoholics Anonymous in 1982 and began a private counseling practice in 1985.

Bill married the late Mary Virginia Warren in 1954. They had four children, all of whom survive him:  Christopher (Kay), David, Jonathan (Scotty Koch), and Nancy.

An April 1965 tornado destroyed the house that the family lived in when they first moved to Toledo. The tornado killed Mary Virginia’s father and grandmother and seriously injured her mother, all of whom were visiting from Virginia. Bill and his family then moved to the Old Orchard neighborhood, where he continued to live until 2023.

Bill sang in various productions and choral groups throughout his life. In 1976 he sang the role of the priest in Man of La Mancha in Toledo. For thirty-eight years, until approximately 2016, he also sang with Toledo’s Masterworks Chorale and its predecessor group.

Travel was one of Bill’s interests. He visited Mt. Rushmore and Acadia, Yosemite, Wind Cave, Crater Lake, Glacier, Yellowstone, Denali, Kenai Fjords, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Grand Canyon national parks. His foreign travel included England, Wales, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, and Canada.

In addition to his children, Bill leaves seven grandchildren: Christopher Jones II (Angela), Jacob Marsh (Emilia), Mackenzie Waldrep (Nicholas), Samuel Marsh, Marie Bailey (Patrick), Elizabeth Jones (Daniel Owens), and Murphy Jones Cooper (Zachary). He leaves eight great-grandchildren: Chloe Jones, Cooper Jones, Emma Julian, Frederick Julian, Tucker Julian, Kennedy Waldrep, Apollo Marsh, and Nicholas Waldrep Jr. Bill also leaves seven nieces and nephews, including Edna A. Griffenhagen, with whom he was especially close.

A memorial service will be held Friday, January 31, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Michael’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4718 Brittany Road, Ottawa Hills, Ohio. The Rt. Rev. Anne B. Jolly will be presiding. A light lunch will follow.

Arrangements were entrusted to Sujkowski Funeral Home Northpointe, 419-476-9176. Condolences can be shared at www.sujkowski.com.