Barbara Jones Omolade

BARBARA’S JOURNEY Barbara Jones Omolade, daughter of the late Hugh Jones and Mamie Taylor Jones, passed away peacefully at her home in Princess Anne, MD on Monday, July 10, 2023. She is survived by her sister, Beatrice Jones and her four children: Kip Omolade, (married to Diana), Ngina Mandouma (married to Ghislain), Eskimo Omolade and Krishna Omolade and her eight grandchildren, Genese, James, Adison, Jonathan, Kent, Kace, Sky and Trevor. She is also survived by extended family members and friends whom she loved dearly. Barbara J. Omolade was born on October 29, 1942, at St. John's Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. She grew up in Bedford Stuyvesant with her sister Beatrice, her father Hugh Jones, a veteran of World War II and her mother, Mamie Jones (née Taylor), a full-time homemaker. She attended Bridge Street AME Church as a young girl and remarked, "my parents surrounded me with unconditional love and attention, so I never knew a day of hunger or strife." She often took trips in the summer to her mother's hometown in Windsor, NC where she learned to appreciate her family history. During her junior high school years, she began to read novels and developed a love of learning; she read many books about other people's challenges and struggles. She often attributed her focus on education to her parents who insisted that she pursue a higher education degree. During the 1960's, Barbara was a member of The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She worked at The Center for the Elimination of Violence in the Family and the Women’s Action Alliance in New York City in the 1970’s. In the 1980's, she was a founding member of The Center for Worker Education of the City University of New York and spent the next 20 years in academia. The Center for Worker Education provided higher education for working adults. Barbara was curious and courageous as exemplified by her adventures living on a kibbutz in Israel and touring China with an organization that was building US/Chinese relations. She was also a founder and co-director of the Consultation of African American Christian Scholars, a week-long seminar held annually at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan where she retired as a dean. Barbara J. Omolade gave her life to Christ and was baptized in 1994 at the age of 51. She recalled making the decision to become a Christian with a prayer, "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner." She spent the next 30 years of her life intensely growing in her relationship with God, studying the Bible and attending various churches in New York and Michigan. She moved to Princess Anne, MD in 2009 and made Metropolitan United Methodist Church her home church in 2012 where she often walked to Sunday services and confidently replied when asked about walking: "If I can just walk, why should I drive?" She described her home in Princess Anne as a sanctuary where she often quoted: “I shall not die but live and shall declare the works and illustrious acts of the Lord. He has hastened me sorely, but He has not given me over to death. I will confess, praise, and give thanks to You for You have heard and answered me and You have become my Salvation and Deliverer. (Psalm 118:17)” Lovingly Submitted ~ The Family

Barbara Jones Omolade

October 29, 1942 - July 10, 2023