Was active in Freehold and HIghtstown business groups,and a founder of the Greater East Windsor/Hightstown Improvement Project
By: Mark Moffa
FREEHOLD – Jeffrey Jones, founding co-owner of the Court
Jester restaurants in Hightstown, Freehold, and Aberdeen, died Sunday at
CentraState Medical Center in Freehold at the age of 52.
According to Michael Page, his business partner, Mr.
Jones died of internal bleeding associated with kidney and liver failure.
He said Mr. Jones was playing golf on June 28, was feeling ill on June 29,
was admitted to the hospital on Friday, and passed away on Sunday.
"It was fairly sudden," Mr. Page said.
Visitation was held Wednesday at the Court Jester
Restaurant in Freehold.
"It was astounding, the number of people that came
through here yesterday," Mr. Page said Thursday, adding that the wait to
get in the door was two-hours long. "There was a line down the block."
Relatives and friends gathered at the restaurant Thursday
morning to proceed to the St. Rose of Lima Chapel for funeral services. Mr.
Jones was carried to the church in a horse-drawn caisson with a bagpiper
per his request.
"He was a colorful man," Mr. Page said.
Mr. Jones was involved in many business, civic and
charitable causes, mainly in Freehold, where he resided for the past 22
years. He was, however, involved with the Hightstown Business Association
and helped to establish the Greater Hightstown/East Windsor Improvement
Project.
Keith Bergmann of D K & B Railway Supplies Train Shop on
Main Street expressed his grief during an interview Wednesday. He said that
Mr. Jones had made a substantial contribution to the Hightstown business
community.
Mr. Page echoed those sentiments.
"He was a fairly forward thinking guy," Mr. Page said.
"He was always pulling for the local businessman."
Mr. Jones worked his way up from the bottom, beginning as
a busboy at the Jolly Trolley restaurant in Westfield, and eventually
became a manager at What’s Your Beef II and other similar restaurants. In
1977, he purchased a century-old building in the center of Freehold on Main
Street, and opened the Court Jester, naming it after the historic
courthouse across the street.
He was also the co-founding owner of the Sagebrush
Restaurant in Morris Plains.
Mr. Jones gave his time and money to many causes, his
favorites being the hospital where he spent his last days and the school
his son attended, St. Rose of Lima in Freehold, according to Mr. Page.
He was co-founder and supporter of the annual Band Aid
Open Golf Tournament which raised funds to support CentraState.
"He was quite an anonymous giver," Mr. Page added. "He
would give to families in need and asked not to be recognized for it."
Mr. Jones rallied support for an assessment district to
help finance the revitalization and restoration movement in Freehold, which
eventually led to the creation of the Freehold Center Partnership.
Politically, he was elected president of the Freehold
Republican Club and was the party’s candidate for mayor last year.
"He was a gregarious guy," Mr. Page said. "He wasn’t
afraid to speak up; he wasn’t shy at all."
Mr. Jones is survived by his ex-wife, Cheryl, of
Freehold; 15-year-old son, Ryan; father, Frederick, of Florida; brother,
Steven, of Clinton Township; and sister, Linda Luke, of Freehold.
Services were handled by the Higgins Memorial Home of
Freehold.
Mr. Page said that Mr. Jones will be cremated and buried
at a later date in a plot by his grandmother at the St. Rose of Lima
Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the St. Rose of Lima
School, 51 Lincoln Place, Freehold, NJ, 07728.