Retired teacher, professor Claudia Jones remembered as 'dynamic' difference-maker
Oct. 11—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A retired University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown professor who dedicated her life to preserving Black history and encouraging Johnstown's young people to pursue their goals has died.
Claudia B. Jones, 90, is being remembered by her friends and former students as passionate about Johnstown and the power of education.
After graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1956, Jones worked as a teacher at Johnstown's Joseph Johns High School. She began her career at a time when it was far less common for Black people to be teachers, NAACP Johnstown Chapter President Alan Cashaw said.
Later, Jones spent 25 years as a Pitt-Johnstown biology professor before retiring in 1995.
"She was a dynamic woman," said Cashaw, one of Jones' former students.
He and Bruce Haselrig Sr., a retired Pitt-Johnstown administrator, both described Jones as a mentor, saying that she led by example and taught them to "make a difference."
Jones co-founded the Greater Johnstown Minority Scholars Club to help students at Greater Johnstown and Conemaugh Valley high schools afford college. She also started a family scholarship fund in her parents' names to help support the club.
"She pushed you to excel and be your best self — and she did not expect you to be any less than you could be," Haselrig said.
He also first met Jones when she was teaching in Johnstown.
In recent weeks, Haselrig said, he's heard from more of Jones' former students who built careers in a variety of professions, including college administrators and an executive with the pharmaceutical company Merck.
Haselrig said that he became a teacher because of the impact that Jones had on his life. In the 1970s, he ended up following her to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, where he spent his career.
"She wanted to make sure every student had a chance to see their potential," Cashaw said, "and that they contributed back to Johnstown once they became successful."
Jones was born in North Carolina, her obituary shows. Her family moved north to Johnstown for work during World War II. Like many other Johnstowners, her father forged his career in Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s mills, Cashaw said.
Both during and after her years as an educator, Jones led efforts to compile and document Black people's stories — some dating back 200 years.
She co-founded the African American Heritage Society in Johnstown, which has worked as an independent partner with the Johnstown Area Heritage Association to share stories about minority culture and contributions to Greater Johnstown.
"She just had a treasure trove of information — and she wrote a lot, about what she called the 'invisible heritage' in Johnstown," Cashaw said.
Without question, many of the region's most fascinating stories involving Black history — including books about the 1923 Rosedale banishment and the Brown settlement on Laurel Hill — have endured because of Jones, he said.
Cashaw recalled that, when he was a high school sophomore, Jones tasked him with exploring his family history to create a family tree. It was an uneasy assignment for Cashaw, who wasn't raised by his biological father, but it ended up being a life-changing one, he said.
"One of the reasons I'm so passionate about community and local history, it's because of her," Cashaw said.
Jones was also a faithful member of Mt. Sinai Institutional Baptist Church, where she served as an adviser to the pastor and sang in the church's choir, her obituary shows.
"Ms. Claudia was a legacy builder," her family wrote in her obituary.
Jones was buried at Grandview Cemetery over the weekend, Haselrig said.
Family suggested that memorial contributions in Jones' memory be made to the Elbert and Lillie Mae Jones Scholarship Fund, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, 216 Market St., Suite 400, Johnstown, Pa. 15901.
