Father David J. Jones, M.M.

Born: April 15, 1935
Ordained: June 9, 1962
Died: October 21, 2026

Father David J. Jones died on October 21, 2026 in the Skilled Nursing Unit at Maryknoll, New York. He was 91 years old and a Maryknoll priest for 64 years.

David Joseph Jones, one of three children of David and Mary Sullivan Jones, was born in Troy, New York, on April 15, 1935. His father died in France during World War II in 1944. He attended St. Patrick’s Elementary School and graduated from LaSalle Institute, both in Troy, New York. He joined Maryknoll in June 1953, right after graduation, reporting to the Maryknoll Junior Seminary (Venard) in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. In September 1953, he transferred to the Maryknoll Apostolic College in Lakewood, New Jersey, where he studied for one year before going on to the Maryknoll College in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He earned a BA in Philosophy from Maryknoll College, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and an MRE in Moral Theology from Maryknoll School of Theology, Maryknoll, New York. He was inducted into the Knights of Columbus Yorktown Heights Council while studying at Maryknoll, New York.

Father Jones was ordained at Maryknoll, New York on June 9, 1962, and was assigned to Africa. He worked in Tanzania, serving as Associate Pastor at Nyamwaga Catholic Church (1962-1965), Kiagata Catholic Church (1966-1967), and Rosana Catholic Church (1968).  From 1966 to 1967, he also served as Assistant Dean of the Zanaki Deanery and Consultor to the Bishop.

Following Vatican II, Father Jones, together with Sr. Margaret Monroe, M.M.; Sister Annunciata of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa; and a Tanzanian married couple, translated the Lumko Program of the Lumko Pastoral Institute in South Africa into Swahili and established the Makoko Family Leadership Center in the Diocese of Musoma. Father Jones and his colleagues drew on the work of Paolo Freire and the Lumko Program to train lay leaders for the Musoma and Shinyanga Dioceses. By the time Father Jones left the Center in 1984, it had achieved full financial self-sufficiency.

Upon Father Jones’s passing, the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa reflected that the Makoko Family Leadership Center remains one of his iconic works. He is remembered by many through his outstanding works and ministry in the Diocese of Musoma.

Father Jones worked in Tanzania until July 1984, when he came back to the United States to serve in the Development Department and was assigned to the Buffalo Promotion House. From May 1986 until June 1990, Father Jones worked with Catholic Relief Services for Overseas Development, serving in Sierra Leone. It was in Sierra Leone that he became a Rotarian in the Freetown Rotary Club. In July 1990, at the request of his family, he returned to the United States and his hometown of Troy, New York, and began working in the Albany Diocese. He resided at St. Patrick’s Rectory, Troy, and served as Catholic Chaplain at Samaritan Hospital in Troy as well as part-time Chaplain for the Rensselaer County Jail. From 1992 to 1993, he earned two units of CPE at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany. Between 1990 and 2010, Father Jones served the faithful of St. Patrick’s Church in Troy by celebrating the Saturday Vigil Mass. During the same period, he also ministered to residents of Eddy Memorial Nursing Home through the regular celebration of Sunday Mass.

In September 1996, Father Jones was appointed Internal Auditor of the Maryknoll Society. He served in this vital role until 2006. He was granted Retired Status in April 2000, and in August 2003, he became the Administrator of St. Patrick’s Parish in Troy. He joined the Senior Missioner Community in October 2007, but continued in his assignment under the Albany Diocese through June 2012.

Father Jones was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council at St. Patrick’s and a Rotarian of the Lansingburgh Rotary Club. He continued to reside in Troy until 2025, when he moved to the Society Center at Maryknoll, New York.

Father Jones is survived by his sister, his niece and nephews, his great nieces and nephews, and many friends in Tanzania. He was predeceased by one sister.

Wake services were held on October 28, 2026 in the Holy Spirit Chapel and the Queen of Apostles Chapel at the Maryknoll Society Center. Mass of Christian Burial followed at 11:00 a.m. and was concelebrated in the Queen of Apostles Chapel. Father Thomas Tiscornia served as Celebrant and Father Michael Kirwen was the homilist. Father David Schwinghamer read the biography and Father John Soltis read the Oath. Burial followed in the Maryknoll Society Cemetery.