John H. Jones

John Henry Jones was born to the union of Sammie Lee Jones, Sr. and Carneal Jones of Ypsilanti, Michigan on August 30, 1955. John was the fourth son in the Jones family following the births of brothers, Sammie Lee Jones, Jr., Robert Lee Jones, Darnell Lee Jones and later twin siblings Leon and Lynette Jones. (all deceased) He departed this life on June 1, 2024.

John accepted Christ as a child and served actively in the Youth choir of Cathedral of Faith Church, Inkster Michigan under the leadership of Bishop Herbert Hinkle. He and his three elder brothers formed a quartet while members of this church and often sang at local churches. Upon moving to Wisconsin, the sons of Dr. Earl Parchia Sr. witnessed to John and he and wife Theresa became members of Mt. Zion Assembly Healing Temple of the Apostolic Faith, where they both were baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost. As a member, John sang in the Temple Choir, was a part of the Men’s ministry and served as a Trustee for over 20 years. After the death of Bishop Parchia, John searched for a new church home for his family and God led he and wife Theresa to then Parklawn Assembly of God (now Embassy Center MKE), under the leadership of Bishop Walter Harvey. John has been a member of this church since 2011 and enjoyed being a part of the Jesus Fraternity. He loved the practical teachings of the Word of God as taught by Bishop Harvey and that of our new senior pastor, Dr. Marcus Arrington of Embassy Center MKE.

John attended grammar schools in Westland, Michigan and graduated from Inkster High School. While in high school, he played in the Inkster High School marching band, graduated with honors from the college preparatory program all while working 30 hours/week as a potwasher for a local restaurant in Dearborn Michigan. All the Jones brothers worked for this restaurant. This provided each of them a strong work ethic early in life as their father worked two jobs to support his family most of his life. John went on to attend Michigan State University where he majored in Labor and Industrial Relations and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978. John believed that he had to set an example for his children so he later returned to Graduate school, graduating with a Master’s of Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University. He was always so proud that he, both of his children and wife had at least two degrees.

John believed in the benefits of exercise and was quite an athlete throughout his life. He enjoyed playing and watching basketball, football, but his greatest love was playing and teaching tennis, watching the Tennis channel and attending tennis tournaments. He loved tennis! He exercised 2-3 hours daily doing both aerobic and strength training. It was this exercise that differentiated his life and health outcomes from that of his siblings and parents who all transitioned very early in life due to cancer.

John is a natural leader and after graduating from Michigan State University, he worked as a Production Foreman for General Motors Corporation, Flint, Michigan. After moving to Wisconsin in the late 70’s, he worked as an Insurance Agent for All State Corporation, and spent most of his career working as a Pharmaceutical Representative at Parke Davis, Warner Lambert Corporation, Pfizer Corporation and Novartis. John achieved numerous awards for outstanding sales in each of these positions. He later retired from FT employment and started a second career as a substitute teacher at Milwaukee Public Schools and a Commercial Real Estate Investor. Additionally, he taught tennis for Milwaukee Public Schools Tennis Camp and held several free tennis events for kids throughout the years.

John was a man of integrity, strong principles, character, but most of all he loved his family. He met his bride, Theresa, while in college and they dated for seven years prior to marriage. Born to this union were two children, Dwayne and Dawn Jones, whom he deeply loved. John was also the proud grandfather of Benjamin, Jackson and Isaiah Jones. John loved his family and was always sharing nuggets of wisdom along the way in the hope that they would embrace and implement the strategies in their lives. He was a visionary leader of his family, always planning and developing strategies to increase revenue, decrease expense and set his family up for successful lives. His standards were high and he was hard on himself, always desiring to achieve the best outcomes.

A naturally funny man, he always joked around and found humor in a number of situations. He cared about the plight of Black men and boys and worked to be a good role model and mentor to youth where possible.

John had an adventurous spirit. He loved life and exploring new things, activities and places. That spirit was passed on to his daughter Dawn, together, they explored boating, tobogganing, rock climbing, doing a 10k walk/run and of course tennis. With son Dwayne, they enjoyed golf, tennis, and basketball. That same spirit inspired many different trips: family ski trip, riding in Charity bike rides across Wisconsin and white-water rafting, just to name a few.

John was preceded in death by his father (Sammie Lee Jones, Sr.), mother (Carneal Jones), eldest brother
(Sammie Lee Jones, Jr.), 2nd eldest brother (Robert Lee Jones), 3rd eldest brother (Darnell Jones) and twin siblings Leon and Lynette Jones.

John leaves to cherish his memory, wife (Theresa Jones) Brown Deer, Wisconsin, Son (Dwayne Jones) of Lansing, Michigan, daughter (Dawn Anniece Jones, Milwaukee, WI, three grandsons: Benjamin Dwayne Jones, Jackson Dwayne Jones and Isaiah Dwayne Jones (Lansing, Michigan) and soon to be daughter-in-love, Crystal Shaw, cousins (Demetrius Gaines (Yolanda), D’Nita (Robert) White, Shirlene Jones of Ypsilanti Michigan, Skye Jones Waller (Baltimore, Maryland) and Jamal Jones (Texas) in addition to a host of other aunts, uncles and relatives in Michigan and Indiana.

Visitation at Embassy Center MKE, 3725 North Sherman Boulevard, Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday, June 15, 2024 from 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM. Service at 10:30 AM.

If ordering flowers for the family, please ensure the flowers are delivered to the church on Saturday morning, June 15, at 8:30 AM.

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