The family of the late Mr. and Mrs. N. A. Jones is pleased to announce a scholarship program to honor the long-time educators in the Webster Parish School system.
Through the Napoleon and Mable Jones Memorial Scholarship, $1,000 will be awarded each year to a college-bound senior of Minden High School, with preference given to African-American students planning to major in education, library science or math. The first scholarship will be awarded this spring.
“We wanted to honor the values our parents embraced as educators for many, many years,” said Sharon Jones Gauthier, organizer of the scholarship program. “We hope the scholarship will keep their memory alive and inspire students to pursue higher education and go on to make a difference in the world as my parents did.”
N.A. Jones was the first African-American teacher to be hired at Minden High School, where he was a math teacher and school counselor. After working at the school board offices for a few years, he returned to Minden High School, where he served as assistant principal until his retirement in 1990, after 40 years in the school system.
Mable White Jones began her career as the librarian at Webster High School right after college in 1948. She served in that same role until her retirement. Her tenure as librarian spanned Webster’s transition from a high school to a junior high school in the 1970s. In addition to her position as librarian, she sponsored the Webster student council for many years.
Both N.A. and Mable Jones highly valued education in their own lives and strove to help their students achieve their own educational dreams. Mr. Jones held a bachelor’s degree from Bishop College and a master’s from Louisiana Tech. Mrs. Jones held a bachelor’s degree from Texas College and a master’s from Louisiana State University. She was one of the first African-American students to attend LSU and the very first African-American from Webster Parish to graduate from LSU.
To learn more about the Napoleon and Mable Jones Memorial Scholarship or to donate to the scholarship fund, please visit the website at https://jonesmemorialscholarship.wordpress.com.
The Napoleon and Mable Jones Memorial Scholarship Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity. All donations are tax-deductible and 100 percent of all donations will be awarded directly to scholarship recipients.
“We’re hoping that others in the community will join us in giving to the scholarship fund as we look to help more students in the coming years,” Jones Gauthier said. “Every dollar makes a difference.”
###
Comments are closed.