Jean Esther Jones

Arrangements for Jean Esther (Yavis) Jones: Viewing will take place Monday, Sept. 23 from 4:00-8:00 pm and Tuesday, Sept. 24 from 10:00 am-12:00 noon at Gasch’s Funeral Home, 4739 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20781 (301-927-6100). The funeral Mass will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 12:30 pm at St. Jerome Roman Catholic Church, 5205 - 43rd Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20781, followed by burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20906 (Aspen Hill area). Memorial donations may be made to Feeding America at https://www.feedingamerica.org; choose Donate/Give in Honor. Flowers are also welcome.

Jean Esther (Yavis) Jones of University Park, MD, passed peacefully in the early morning hours of September 10, 2024. Fewer than six weeks before her death, Jean was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive metastatic cancer. She met this unexpected and undesirable news with faith and grace, saying that, while she was not quite ready, she was not afraid of dying. Jean said that, if one good thing came out of her diagnosis, it was gathering her cherished family and friends together and around her. 

Choosing joy in the face of hardship was not a new concept to Jean. Having buried both her parents, WWII B-17 pilot John J. “Jack” Yavis and homemaker extraordinaire G. Jane (Nevils) Yavis, Jean saw her beloved husband, Daniel Joseph “Dan” Jones, through multiple surgeries battling a lengthy kidney disease. Jean and Dan had met at Rutgers. He followed Jean to Washington to complete his degree at the University of Maryland-College Park. Jean and Dan married in 1972. Dan died in 1987.

Just weeks before her own diagnosis, Jean buried her lifelong friend, Judy Schneider, whom Jean had cared for in her home. Through losses of dear friends and their family members and losses within her and Dan’s family, Jean found a way to connect through grief, sharing her kindness and optimism with all in her presence.

Jean is survived by her twin sister, Jane Yavis, of Pennsauken, NJ, and her younger sister, Jodi Yavis Williamson (Harry) and niece Emily Williamson, of Sewell, NJ. In addition, Jean leaves behind a beehive of multigenerational cousins and loved ones. Jean was a mother-figure to many of the young people in her and Dan’s families and a loving, generous, caring aunt to all. Jean’s generosity and non-judgmental acceptance of family and friends made her a haven for all who knew her. The love she extended came back to her in spades. 

During Jean’s illness, her sisters were always at her side. A cousin of Jean’s husband, Jodi Bragg, with whom Jean was particularly close, was also devoted to Jean’s care and regularly at her side through her illness. 

Jean received a parade of visitors, fulfilling her wish to be with those she loved and for them to be together in her presence. A few days before she died, surrounded by her sisters, in-laws, friends and family, Jean looked at each of the precious faces in her hospice room and said, “Thank you to all of you for getting me through this!”

Jean was a master storyteller, turning tales of everyday interactions with fellow human beings and commonplace occurrences into side-splitting comedy. She loved sharing family stories like her father’s WWII aviation experiences, her uncle’s baseball career with the New York Yankees, and the time her elderly mother obtained a speedboat license. A natural entertainer and hostess, Jean always had an abundance of food and drink for guests in her homes in Maryland and on the Jersey Shore. 

Jean loved reading, attending performances, playing golf, watching British comedies and mysteries, and traveling. She and Jane traveled to Greece, the homeland of their paternal grandparents. Jean invited her sisters and niece to travel with her to Congress-Bundestag parliamentary exchange programs in Berlin. She traveled with family and friends to Europe and extensively across the United States and Canada. 

A very special trip for Jean was the trip with her sisters and niece to England with the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association, in memory of their father (https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/honoree-plaque/?honoree_id=1692843 and https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/media/media-51742jpeg). Every trip became material for more humorous tales and rich travelogue accounts to be told to and enjoyed by all.

Born in Queens, NY, Jean grew up in Pottsville, PA, graduating from Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary High School in 1965. Jean obtained her bachelor’s in history from Rutgers University (Camden) in 1970. She wrote her senior thesis on Abraham Lincoln and turned an interest into a lifelong avocation as a Lincoln scholar, so much so that she had her very own “Lincoln Bedroom” ready for houseguests. 

A central facet of Jean’s time at Rutgers was her membership in the Delta Rho sorority, where she made lifelong friends. Jean attended college reunions and regularly got together with one or more of her sorority sisters throughout their years since graduation. She had been president of the sorority. Jean also wrote for the Rutgers-Camden student newspaper, The Gleaner. At her class’s 50th reunion, Jean was chosen to reflect on campus life and the national issues that engaged Rutgers students in the 1960s.

Jean was ahead-of-her-time and persevering—striving to be the best in school and sports, pursuing opportunities and a career from which girls and women had been precluded. Even in her co-ed Catholic high school, she was elected her class’s vice president, the first girl ever to become a class vice president or president.

When Jean graduated from Rutgers, she had her eye on historical and policy research at one of the great archival institutions in Washington, DC. Interviewing for work in a male-dominated field, Jean fought to be hired for more than her typing skills. She recalled one harrowing day of job searching, taking respite on a Washington park bench, when a bird overhead dropped an unwanted gift on her lovely interview suit. Instead of being discouraged, Jean laughed and took it as a sign of luck. Soon after, she landed an entry-level research position in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. Jean rose through the ranks to become a public policy specialist. Importantly, Jean developed expertise in a wide variety of policy initiatives to address hunger, food security, and nutrition in America. 

Jean ultimately served many years as head of the Food and Agriculture Section of CRS’s Energy and Natural Resources Division, later renamed the Resources, Science, and Industry Division. She lead a group of skilled, knowledgeable analysts in preparing authoritative, professional, nonpartisan reports and providing individualized consultations for committees and members of Congress to serve their legislative, oversight, and constituent needs. 

In the mid-1980s, Jean sought and won the presidency of the Congressional Research Employees Association (CREA). Although Jean and other women served on CREA’s board of directors, CREA had not yet had a female president. Jean’s “Keen for Jean” campaign buttons were a hit in the Library of Congress as well as in CRS. Jean’s knowledge, insight, and willingness to be honest with individual staff and her representation of staff in dealing with CRS management successfully served both individuals and the union membership.

Following Jean’s 2005 retirement from CRS after 34 years of service, she moved seamlessly to the position of senior policy and research counsel at Feeding America, the major advocacy organization for food banks, food pantries, and meals programs. Jean’s firsthand knowledge of food and nutrition policy and policymaking, along with her ability to communicate issues in a clear, convincing manner, gave her another, very visible opportunity to serve our nation’s hungry. 

Jean retired from Feeding America in 2011, and spent another two years researching and writing on child nutrition for university research centers. Combating hunger issues was a lifelong passion for Jean. Her contributions to child nutrition advocacy and awareness are a great source of pride to her family and friends.

Jean was a gem of a human being who connected easily and well with people. She made friends quickly and sustained her relationships with kindness and generosity. Even through her illness these past weeks, Jean made every effort to learn the names of nurses, therapists and aides. Jean didn’t leave anyone behind or forget people. She had many lifelong friendships. To those of us missing her now, she would tell us to dry our tears and smile. And, of course, to “rock on, my sweeties!”