Josephine B. Jones papers

Josephine Broaddus Jones lived from October 1, 1900 to April 16, 1991. Her hometown was Greeley, Colorado. Her residence is now the home for the Greeley Forestry Department. The Josephine Jones Park in Greeley, which was donated to the city upon her death, was named as Greeley’s best place to run by Tribute writer Dan England. Additionally, a statue of Josephine Jones by J. Tom Carrillo exists in the park. Miss Josephine Jones was one of the first proponents of Xeriscaping (the act of using more drought-resistant or native plants to decrease water consumption, fertilizer use, workload, and pesticides) in Greeley, which is reflected in the natural status of her park and housing landscape.

She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1923 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literature. While at CU she was heavily involved on campus. As listed in the 1923 Coloradoan, her list of accomplishments include membership in the “Zeda Club, Mortar Board, Players Club, Wearer of the Masque, Boosters’ Operetta, Y.W.C.A Cabinet and Carnival, May Fete, Glee Club, Forum, Women’s League Vaudeville, Choral Union, Le Cercle Francais, Coloradoan, W.S.G.A Representative, Senate, Social Communication, and Big Sister Committee Chairman.”

Her initial post-graduate studies at Northwestern University were cut short when she returned home to care for her aging mother. Following her parents’ death, she moved to New York City and completed a M.A. degree in Speech Studies from Columbia University.

Having developed a passion for performance and theater, Josephine Jones subsequently taught speech and drama in the public schools of Ossining, New York for nearly forty years. She retired in 1962 and returned to Greeley, where she cultivated her great love of the arts and humanities for public benefit. Having traveled widely and developed a keen interest in public affairs, she organized several women’s discussion groups, and staged dramatic readings and plays — events that were always marked by her characteristic elegance, verve, and humor.

Miss Jones served on the 1970 Greeley Centennial Program Committee, was the co-chair of the Greeley Centennial-Bicentennial Commission, founder of the Heritage Association of Northern Colorado, member of the Greeley Women’s Club, member of the Nature Conservancy, member of the Friends of the Library, member of Questors, member and chairman of the Want-To-Know (WTK) Club, Greeley’s oldest literary club, founded in 1890 and was former president of the American Association of University Women (Local chapter) from 1934-1935. In 1963, Jones was honored by the CU Alumni Association for Community Service as a retired teacher, for her community service and her time as co-chairman of the Greeley Centennial-Bicentennial Commission. Her legacy includes The Josephine Jones Lecture Series hosted by the Communications Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Following her death, the Department received an endowment of $1 million – a donation which complemented her support of CU’s Theatre Department and the renovation of the Macky Hall performance venue.