J.W. Jones
Inducted: 2018

Known by his students as Mr. Jones, beloved by those students and respected by his peers, his sense of humor, warm understanding, kindness and patience were never in doubt.

A resident for 22 years, J.W. Jones came into the community in 1920 as principal of the Upper Arlington school on Waltham Road, where he also taught biology. When the new school building was constructed in 1924, J.W. was appointed principal and the district's first full-time superintendent, a position he held for 20 years.

His passion and leadership played instrumental roles in establishing the parent-teacher association in 1921, the Swimming Pool Association in 1926, the Devon Road swimming pool in 1928 and Upper Arlington's first preschool, the Marwick School of Supervised Play, in 1933.

During his 34 years of teaching and as the face of the school district between 1920 and 1954, J.W. made a lasting impact developing the Upper Arlington schools. When the new high school building opened in 1956, the former high school was renamed Jones Junior High School (now Jones Middle School) in his honor. As a legacy, J.W.'s four children, three of his grandchildren and four of his great-grandchildren all graduated from the high school.