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The Honorable Theodore Theopolis Jones, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on March 10, 1944 to Theodore T. Jones, Sr. and Hortense Parker Jones of Newport News, Virginia. He was affectionately known as Teddy. He was the youngest of three children and raised in a close-knit family with the love and support of an extensive group of aunts and uncles, all of whom stressed the value and importance of education and who encouraged him to strive for excellence and to take advantage of every educational opportunity.

He attended P .S. 93 elementary school in Brooklyn, New York. In 1952, the Jones family moved to Jamaica, New York, where he then attended P.S. 123 and Shimer Junior High School. While at Shimer, he met Joan Sarah Hogans, who later became his loving spouse of 45 years.

Judge Jones later graduated from John Adams High School in Queens, New York and matriculated at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in Hampton, Virginia. While at Hampton, he was inducted into the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Gamma Epsilon Chapter, (Spring 1963) and was involved in various student organizations. Judge Jones was a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, and was commissioned at graduation as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He graduated from Hampton Institute in 1965, with Bachelor of Science degrees in History and Political Science.

Judge Jones served as a Field Artillery Officer and later completed Special Forces training at the John F. Kennedy School of Special Warfare at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He was then stationed in the Republic of Vietnam where he served with distinction and honor from June 1968 until July 1969. He relinquished his commission at the rank of Captain, and then went on to serve his country in various other capacities.

In 1972, Judge Jones graduated from the St. John’s University, School of Law with a Juris Doctorate degree, and soon after was admitted to the New York State Bar. He began his legal defense career working for the Community Defender Office of the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Division located in Brooklyn, New York. He later served as Law Secretary to the Hon. Howard A. Jones of the N. Y.S. Court of Claims. In 1975, he established a private practice on Fulton Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, and later at 16 Court Street in Brooklyn Heights, specializing in criminal defense litigation. On many occasions, he commented that he “enjoyed practicing law, working with colleagues, and mentoring many young aspiring lawyers”. He was an inspiring and respected resource for an immeasurable number of attorneys and others associated with the practice of law.

In 1990, Theodore J ones successfully ran for Justice of the New York State Supreme Court. Justice Jones presided over the Juvenile Offender Part from September 1993 through December 1997, handling all cases involving juveniles who were charged with felonies in Kings County. While presiding over those cases, it was important to Justice Jones to be a positive influence in the lives of those juveniles that came before him.
From January 1998 through January 2006, Justice Jones presided over various cases in the Supreme Court, Kings County Civil Term. Subsequently, he served as Administrative Judge, Supreme Court, Kings County, Civil Term. In January 2007, Justice Jones was nominated to the New York State Court of Appeals by newly-elected Governor Eliot Spitzer. After Senate confirmation that February, Ted was sworn in as an Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals.

During the course of his legal career, Judge Jones served on the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Second Judicial Department; Commission on the Future of the Courts (Dunn Commission); Commission to Town and Village Court; and Co-Chair of the Task Force on Wrongful Convictions. Always committed to education, Judge Jones served on the Board of Trustees for St. John’s University, and on the Board of Directors of St. John’s University School of Law.

Judge Jones was the honored recipient of numerous awards, including: New York County Lawyer’s Association – Judicial Sunshine Award; Brooklyn Bar Association- Judicial Excellence and Special Appreciation Award; The Catholic Lawyers Guild Award; The Jewish Lawyers Guild Award; The Woman’s Bar Association; St. John’s University School of Law – Alumni Achievement Award and Distinguished Alumni Award; New York City Trial Lawyers Association – Excellence in Jurisprudence; Metropolitan Black Bar Association; Legal Aid Society – Distinguished Alumni Award; Westchester County Black Bar – Constance Baker Motley Judiciary Award; Medgar Evers College – President’s Medal; Tribune Society; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. – Citizen of the Year and Metropolitan Chapters Award; NYS Court of Claims – Judicial Achievement Award; Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association – Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award; Rockland County Bar Association – Judicial Achievement Award; National Bar Association- Gertrude Rush Award; Rochester Black Bar Association – Champion of Diversity Award; New York State Bar Association – Lifetime Achievement Award. Further, Judge Jones held Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees (LL.D) from St. John’s University School of Law and from Pace University School of Law.

Judge Jones’ professional experience did not overshadow his love for life. An avid golfer, Ted enjoyed spending time on the golf course with family, friends, and colleagues.

He often jokingly threatened the use of his short game around the green against those who challenged his drive off of the tee. Ted would smile and say, “always remember – every shot in golf makes somebody happy”.

Judge Jones and his loving wife, the former Joan Sarah Hogans, were friends and companions for many years. Their union was an expression of their commitment to each other. Their sensitivity to each other, and their inclusion of family and friends, made them whole. In the course of their journey together, they endured the loss of their youngest son, Michael David Jones, who passed away in the summer of 2003. They were always happy to relay the numerous successes of sons TJ and Wesley. Ted and Joan enhanced each other as they together enjoyed what life offered.

On Monday, November 5,2012, Theodore T. Jones, Jr. left this life and joined his son Michael. Judge Jones is survived by his wife Joan; son Theodore T. Jones III (TJ) and his wife, Teresa, and son Wesley Dennis Jones and his fiancé, Yendelela Cuffee; grandchildren: Kira and Theodore T. Jones IV (Theo); sister A. Theodora J. Blackmon and her family; brother Dr. Lawrence W. Jones, Sr. and his family; mother-in-law Ruth Hogans; sisters-in-law: Shirley Turner, Vivian Pacheco, Linda Hall, and Gail Reed and their families; and a host of family and friends. Even as his life is now a series of events and accomplishments in our memory, he will be dearly missed but never forgotten.

“He was tapped to elevate law itself.”
Some Reflections:
Judge Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge, New York Court of Appeals: “There was something about Teddy, something inescapable. Ted didn’t overthink things. That’s what he did with his life and with the transit strike. He had a quiet dignity, everybody loved and adored him He had a certain humility, whether with family or in the court. He talked about his professional life and his family life. And he excelled in both.”

“Ted knew what justice was. He had a passion for equal justice, lke no onw I know. He listened, and he had common sense.. What will I remember most? The times we were not on the bench. He captivated all of us. His appreciation of life came from his Vietnam experience, especially in the way he dealt with issues of life and death. He was a unique human being , had a gentleness of spirit.”

Charles Hynes, District Attorney, Kings County, New York, framed the time of his academic career, what was happening in the nation – the Virginia of Judge Jones when he attended Hampton, where he was majoring in Physics, and the legal issues he dealt with in life. “It was a largely segregated time, historic civil rights laws were being put in place, but by the end of Jim Crow, those laws (still) were not fully enforced. He travelled to The South during the Civil Rights Movement and was forced to use a Colored Only bathroom. He served in Vietnam, where many white officers clung to the vestiges of racial segregation. He and his contemporaries had to overcome the problems that Langston Hughes described in his poem, ‘A Dream Deferred.’ But Ted never shriveled under pressure. I never observed him clash or angry. He had a sharp intellect. He was brilliantly coherent and logical.”

Attorney Ravi Batra: “I rise to pay tribute to a rare man and to declare my unabashed affection for this man of steel. Teddy was a man of uncommon valor, integrity. (We always) knew that Justice dispensed by him would be honest and just for all. Let me tell you a little bit about his soul: he was kindness personified without fear nor favor. And as the world is at odds with the laws of nature itself, he leaves his everlasting embrace of it all.”

Upcoming in Our Time Press:
More Reflections from Colleagues and Associates, and Stories, Remembrances of Long-time Close Friends.

The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) is deployed at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, serving medical needs in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

For the first time ever, two Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) Teams have set up operations in a hospital.
Brookdale CEO Mark Toney led the 48 hour transformation of 1½ floors of storage areas into a fully-functioning medical space for more than 100 patients from storm damaged local nursing homes and Coney Island Hospital which closed due to flooding. The team at Brookdale Hospital were able to track down all but four family members who were contacted and notified that their loved ones are safe at Brookdale. Family members have come to visit and for family who live too far away, or who may be victims of Sandy themselves and were not able to come see their family, Brookdale and the RDF set up phone calls for them.

Lieut. Mike Muni, DPI Officer for RDF Team-2 stated, “This is a perfect example of what President Obama just talked about on the news not too long ago. We have to cut the red tape to get the services where they are needed.”

Brookdale Hospital had contacted the state and the Health Department offering its underutilized space. The state contacted the federal government, “which activated our team out of Washington DC.,” Muni said. “When we got here, they were literally putting the paint on the walls as we were moving in. It was ‘all hands on deck’ for the community, for Brookdale Hospital, the state, and for the federal government.” In less than two days, the storage areas on half of the 6th floor and the entire 11th floor were cleared, plumbing and electricity were fully functional, and patient beds were moved in.

“Our teams are hospitals-in-a-box, virtually,” said Captain de la Cruz, PI Officer for PHS-2 RDF. “We come with everything from doctors and nurses, to veterinarians, sanitation engineers, administration, hospital administrative staff, public affairs and logisticians to make sure we have all the supplies we need. We go to where we are needed within 12 to 14 hours to provide services.” Each team arrives with its own cache of supplies, including a pharmacy and is able to provide services for up to 14 days without needing to be restocked. They serve chronic and acute care needs. “We’ve served in the past everything from seniors, nursing home evacuees like we’re doing now, special needs populations, or a family – parents, children and infants. We go the gamut,” said de la Cruz. “We don’t know the population we are going to serve until we are on the ground.”
“Brookdale Hospital has been incredibly cooperative,” said de la Cruz. “They are fantastic collaborator and partner.”

PHS-2 is one of five RDF Teams from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who are ready to go at a moment’s notice after a natural disaster when called upon by the Department of Health and Human Services and FEMA, once they have a request by the governor.

This week saw the end of a 14-day deployment for RDF-2. Cmdr. Joseph Zagame, PI Officer for incoming RDF-1 said, “We are here to provide a seamless transition from Team-2 to Team-1. Once we get the transition plan approved and vetted by the team commanders — our staff is in route right now – then the ongoing complement will be going home.”

Zagame, who is also a licensed pharmacist, explained that the normal complement of the team is 105 personnel. Based on the need at Brookdale, RFD-2 has 76 officers; and replacement Team RDF-1 has 65 officers because of “the exceptional job they have done laying the groundwork for us to come in to provide continuity of care for the patients. Whatever is needed to complete the mission we will provide,” said Zagame.

In the past, RDFs have provided medical services for other hurricanes, including Gustave and Katrina. They had officers deployed in Haiti after the earthquake and in Japan after the tsunami. “We have public health officers at the Inauguration, as well,” said Muni. “Anytime there is an opportunity for something to happen, we have public health offices behind-the-scenes. It all falls under our mission, which is to protect, promote and advance the health and safety of our nation.”

De la Cruz added, “We can set up our federal medical station pretty much anywhere; in gymnasiums, we’ve taken over convention centers – anywhere where we can guarantee the safety of the patients that we serve. We have to have basic electricity and running water so that the medical care can be provided. But we have worked out of tents before and run our own generators. This is the first time we have been able to deploy in a hospital system.”

As hospital CEO, Toney explained his role in providing services to the greater community during a time of crisis. “When a community has been impacted the way this community has been, and Brookdale is a facility that had minimal damage to it, we have a commitment and a responsibility to take care of the people,” he said. “We need to be able to be the beacon in the community. We were able to do that.”

The entire Brookdale Hospital family pulled together. “It was done within 48 hours. And, it was done because the Brookdale family employees here knew the need and wanted to help their neighbors,” Taney said. “Being able to offer our availability was something that we were happy to do.”

According to Toney, Brookdale staff were willing to step forward and assist the RDF Teams throughout the hospital. Toney admitted that in today’s healthcare environment, most institutions run very lean. “We did not have excess staff,” he said. “What we did is implement a state-of-emergency. All our staff are basically on-call and have to be available. We are in the business of taking care of people who need our help.” The staff stayed through the nights, and Brookdale provided bedding and food for them. “At the end of the day,” said Toney, “our staff are the ones who worked through it” even though some experienced flooding at their own homes. Toney said, “the hospital is running some overtime, obviously, but our staff are willing to do that because it’s needed for the patients.” In addition, Brookdale hired and is hiring more temporary staff, through the unions and the marketplace.

The nursing home patients were in the dark and the cold for an extended period of time in a couple of the facilities. “As the nursing homes start re-opening pending approval from the state, the residents on the sixth and eleventh floors will probably go back to long term care facilities versus being in an acute care hospital,” said Toney. We hope that Brookdale will always be here as a beacon to help in a crisis.” While the RDF Teams were attending to the medical needs of their transfer patients, Brookdale Hospital is providing continuing post-storm care to the greater community.

Elliot Bondy, Director of Pulmonary Medicine at Brookdale Hospital spoke to Our Time Press about health risks in the aftermath of Sandy.

Dr. Bondy: “Exposure to mold for those people who are sensitive can cause them to have coughing, wheezing, and with a long enough exposure over a long enough period of time, they will start to experience a shortness of breath. Usually a person who has a pre-existing pulmonary condition, for example asthma, or allergies, will have quicker symptoms. There are some people who are very sensitive to mold after a day or two and will start experiencing shortness of breath and coughing. Treatment for mold exposure is removal of the mold or removal of your exposure by leaving the area. People who may have experienced sustained damage from the storm – flooded basements, wet walls, areas where mold can grow – they are going to be at risk for having mold exposure. There is nothing a person can take to prevent symptoms of mold exposure. Some people who may have been exposed might need anti-inflammatory agents. It is a little bit too early to expect to see large numbers of mold exposure cases.”

Dust is another factor when people are cleaning out their flooded homes. “People, especially cleanup workers, have to take extra precautions,” said Dr. Bondy. “Though not as serious as after 9/11, the dust in the air can contribute to airway sensitivity.”

Dr. Bondy said tuberculosis is only a risk when there is a breakdown in health standards in areas of crowding and if there is a patient who has tuberculosis in a shelter and doesn’t tell anybody. Then others are at risk, but the health department is very meticulous about following people who have tuberculosis.”

For people who live in high rises where water systems stopped functioning, the smell of human waste is unpleasant but not a health problem. Dr. Bondy did say that the only serious problem is physical touching of the accumulated waste. “That is an infectious disease concern,” Dr. Bondy said. The Centers for Disease Control recommends using clean bottled water for washing hands and body.