For generations of Richmond residents, John W. “Casey” Jones Sr. helped keep their teeth clean and smiles bright. The dentist, who served the community for decades, remained dedicated to his work until his death Monday, Sept. 29 at age 83. 

“His practice was his ministry,” Jones’ son Vaughan Jones said. “It was a very poetic end to a majestic life.” 

Jones was born Feb. 25, 1942, in Henrico County to Warner M. Jones Sr. and Carol Carney Jones. The second of four children, he earned the nickname “Casey” for his baseball skills, a nod to the Ernest Thayer poem “Casey at the Bat.” 

Despite his athletic potential, Jones showed an early interest in medicine. 

“He said as early as his freshman year in high school he was going to be a dentist, and that’s just what he did,” Vaughan said, quoting one of his father’s cousins. 

After graduating from Virginia Randolph High School in 1960, Jones enrolled at Virginia Union University, beginning a more than 10-year journey in medical education. 

Before earning a bachelor of science degree in 1964, he joined the Alpha Gamma chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, worked summer jobs in Atlantic City and met his future wife, Diane Dorthea Jones. 

The couple married in 1967, and Jones went on to earn a doctorate from Howard University’s College of Dentistry in 1974. 

When Jones returned to Richmond, he joined other dentists serving those in need through the Richmond Community Action Program. The experience helped him build connections that would last for decades. 

“He was trustworthy, he was honest and he was the same person, no matter where you saw him and when you saw him,” said Randy Adams, former president of the Old Dominion Dental Society (ODDS) and a former business partner of Jones who worked alongside him in RCAP. 

Jones’ years of training and experience allowed him to hit the ground running when he opened his first dental practice in 1976. His work left a lasting impression on those around him, including his daughter-in-law, Audra Jones, who changed her career path after shadowing him during a college winter break. 

“I saw his relationships with his patients, the transformations he was doing not only cosmetically, physically, but internally as well,” she said. She began working at Jones’ practice months after graduating in 1999. “I didn’t give it a second thought.” 

Alongside his practice, Jones was a longtime member of the Old Dominion Dental Society, the National Association of Guardsmen and the Peter B. Ramsey Dental Society, and he was an avid car collector. 

He was also a devoted patriarch, hosting an outdoor Christmas celebration during the early years of the pandemic, encouraging children’s educational and athletic interests and spending time with family the Sunday before his death. 

Jones is preceded in death by his parents, wife and brothers Karl and Hiawatha. He is survived by his brother Warner Jones Jr., four sons, two daughters-in-law, six grandchildren and other family and friends. 

A funeral will be held Thursday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m. at Garland Avenue Baptist Church, 2700 Garland Ave.