Globe reporter made history in life, dies at 61

Vidya Rao

Arthur Jones had the ability to make his readers do more than just pay attention — he made them feel the stories he wrote.

“He spoke for the average man and woman,” said former Mayor Raymond Flynn. “He was bright, creative and loyal. And most importantly, a close friend.”

Jones, who was a reporter for the Boston Globe for 11 years, died Monday morning at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from complications of leukemia treatment.

“It’s been a privilege to be his daughter. He accomplished so much in his lifetime and he did it with great dignity and humility,” said Kofi Jones, the former journalist’s daughter, to the Boston Herald.

Jones, who was originally from Baltimore, attended Boston University and Columbia University. He joined the Boston Globe in 1970.

In 1975, Jones, along with other Globe staff, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service for the paper’s coverage of school desegregation. He also won an Emmy Award in 1980 for his investigative reporting work on the subway system for WBZ-TV.

In 1981, Jones moved on to teach journalism at Boston University. He later became deputy press secretary for Gov. Michael Dukakis, director of communications for the City of Boston under Flynn and deputy press secretary for President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1995.

Jones returned to Massachusetts, becoming director of the news office at MIT in 2003, a position he held until his illness.

“I just don’t know anyone who was able to generate that level of trust all the way around the circle,” Kathryn Willmore, who recently retired as a vice president at MIT, told the Globe. “When Arthur Jones called, it wasn’t just MIT calling, it was Arthur. And people knew they could count on him to tell the truth.”

In addition to his wife, Jones leaves his mother, Ruth Stokes of Detroit; two daughters, Kofi of Wilmington and Keely of Los Angeles; a sister, Rita Dady of Oakland; a brother, Frizelle of Hudson; a stepbrother, Eric Stokes of Detroit and a granddaughter.