A former development director and vice president of Divine Word College and an Epworth Fire Department volunteer is being remembered for his wit, selflessness and dedication.
The Rev. Robert “Bob” Jones died May 13, at the age of 80 at the Society of the Divine Word’s Chicago Provincial House in Techny, Ill. He was born April 5, 1939, in Boston. Those who knew him would speak of his pride in the city and its sports teams, and of his Boston accent, which he never lost regardless of where he was in the world.
Jones was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1968. As a member of the Society of the Divine Word, he served as a missionary priest for nearly 60 years.
His work took him from New York to Rome to Papua New Guinea. In 1980, he arrived in Epworth, where, while serving at Divine World College, he became chaplain of the Epworth Fire Department.
Tom Berger, the department’s chief, said Jones played an integral role in the department, both professionally and personally.
“Any kind of serious call, he was able to work with the families and comfort them,” he said. “That was a side that a lot of volunteer fire departments can’t perform.”