On Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 11 am, the Celebration of Life for Hugh R Jones, Jr will be held at First Parish Church (349 Boston Post Road) in Weston, followed by a reception at the Weston Golf Club (273 Meadowbrook Road). The Celebration of Life will be led by Reverend Jeff Barz-Snell.

The Owl is quite sorry that she did not know Mr. Jones personally. The beautiful tributes to him on social media channels and that I have overheard mention time and again how important community and family were to him. I have asked for and received permission to re-print two of them:

“Hugh had a warmth and a zest for life that were infectious. His achievements were many, but his focus was always on people first. His laugh, his engaging smile, and his enthusiasm could turn the cold, cold heart of any curmudgeon,any day. He believed in fairness, democracy, justice, and love, and his love for beautiful Sara and their four devoted children, and their children, took precedence over all. He was a dear, dear man.” – Barbara Alfond.

“I had the privilege of starting my town volunteering under Hugh when he was chair of the Affordable Housing Partnership,” said Ken Newberg. “He was warm, engaging, and brought out the best in people. He served as a beacon for those who wanted to give back to the community. I will miss him dearly.”

Please join your community in celebrating Hugh’s life. If you are unable to attend in person, the Celebration of Life will be livestreamed from First Parish.

The link to the live stream will be posted on the church website on Friday, January 27 and Saturday morning, January 28, the day of the service.

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The obituary follows in its entirey from Legacy.com.

Hugh Richard Jones, Jr. of Weston, MA, was born on March 6,1938, and died peacefully surrounded by his family on December 22, 2022. He was the husband of the late Sara Clift Jones and the son of the late Jean and Honorable Hugh R. Jones of New Hartford, NY.

Hugh is the father of four children and their spouses, Tripp and Robin Jones, Allison and Jon Elvekrog, Clift Jones and Bryn Zeckhauser, and Dan and Paola Jones. He is also the proud “Chiefy” to 13 treasured grandchildren, Hugh, Tucker and Eden Jones of Wayland, Jack, Austen and Tenley Elvekrog of Piedmont, CA, Charlotte and Annabel Jones of Cambridge, Daniel, William, Benjamin, and Sara Jones, and Constanza Vergara of Weston. Hugh is survived by four siblings, Anne McHugh of Baileyville, ME, Thomas Jones of Morris Plains, NJ, Jean Morris of Remsen, NY, and David Jones of Mundelein, IL; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Hugh graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Amherst College in 1960, received the First Citizen Award for “the graduate pre-eminent in scholarship, leadership, athletics, and character,” played football and was an All-American Lacrosse player. Prior to attending Harvard Law School, he studied at the London School of Economics as a Fulbright Scholar. He spent the entirety of his 44-year law career as a member of the Corporate Department of Hale and Dorr (WilmerHale) in Boston, where he was honored to serve the interests of many varied corporate and institutional clients, domestic and international business corporations, tax-exempt organizations, governing boards of charitable organizations, and as a personal advisor and trustee to individual clients. His longest standing client relationship was serving as outside counsel for The Boston Consulting Group which afforded him fascinating work, lifelong friendships, and the opportunity to travel the world with Sara.

Among his many professional activities, Hugh served as president of the Boston Bar Association and as a trustee of the Boston Bar Foundation. He chaired the Steering Committee of the Boston Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. He was a member of the Executive Committee and as a northeast regional vice chairman of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Hugh was a proud and active member of his community, serving a number of distinguished community organizations. He was a founding member of Boston Children’s Chorus and a partner in charge of the WilmerHale charitable partnership with Cathedral High School in Boston’s South End. He was appointed a clinical instructor at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School where he spent a significant portion of the last four years of his career as a supervising instructor of the Community Enterprise Project, counseling law students to provide legal services to businesses and entrepreneurs in disadvantaged communities. In addition, Hugh served on the Advisory Committee on Public Charities for the attorney general of Massachusetts. Having spent many years counseling incarcerated young men, he then served as a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Advisory Committee on Corrections under Governors Sargent, King and Dukakis. He is a former trustee of the Belmont Hill School, Justice Resource Institute, Inc., Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, and Massachusetts Half-Way Houses.

Following a coordinated retirement with his wife, Sara, Hugh remained active in affordable housing initiatives for the Town of Weston and alumni affairs for Amherst College. He also cherished being Sara’s primary caretaker, partner and champion during her nearly four year battle with ALS. Notwithstanding his many professional accomplishments, he was a constant, active participant in his children’s and grandchildren’s lives. More than anything else, Hugh was proudest of his role as husband, father, grandfather, and friend.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Hugh’s memory may be given to: The Sara Clift Jones MGH ALS Biomarker Research Fund c/o Alexandra Van Strien MGH Development Office, Suite 540 125 Nashua Street Boston, Massachusetts 02114.