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  • Famous Residents

    Discover the stories of our most well-known permanent residents.

    Famous Residents Lewis Allen Dr. Ida Catherine Bender Louis L. Berger, Sr. Dorothy Goetz Berlin John Blocher Wilson S. Bissell Al Boasberg Willis Haviland Carrier George Cary Shirley Chisholm George Clinton Dr. Frederick Cook Jessica Brown Cornelius Joseph Dart August Esenwein Millard Fillmore Millard Powers Fillmore Mary Abigail Fillmore Caroline Carmichael McIntosh Fillmore Frank H. Goodyear Erastus Granger Charles W. Goodyear William Hengerer Katharine Pratt Horton Kathleen Howard Red Jacket Rick James Mary Elizabeth Johnson Rev. Leeland Newton Jones Jr. Edward Austin Kent Irvine Kittinger Edward Kleinhans Seymour H. Knox II Northrup Knox William P. Letchworth Daniel Lockwood Maria Love Brigadier General Albert Myer John R. Oishei Dr. Roswell Park Ely Parker George N. Pierce Samuel F. Pratt George Rand Mary Jane Rathbun Major General Bennet Riley Anna Katharine Green Rohlfs Aaron Rumsey Rev. Willie Brown Seals John N. Scatcherd Jacob Schoellkopf Col. George H. Selkirk Prince Kyril Scherbatow Sidney Shepard Elvin J. “Shep” Shepherd William J. Simon Jr Annie Singleton Rev. Bennett Smith, Jr. Alfred P. Southwick Elbridge Spaulding Margaret St. John Victoria Sutherland Mary Burnett Talbert Edwin R. Thomas Charles Townsend Margaret L. Wendt America Pinckney Peter Williams William Fargo Cyrus Lazelle Warner Eidlitz William Buchanan Charles Reidpath Lawrence Bell John E. Brent James Tillinghast Ehrhardt Koch

    Rev. Leeland Newton Jones Jr.

    Accomplished religious leader

    The Rev. Leeland Newton Jones Jr. died on August 13, 2009 at the age of 87.  Born in Buffalo, he spent the first seven years of his life sleeping in the bed of his grandfather, a former slave who had fled from the South.  He was student body president and captain of the football and debate teams at Technical High School and president of the student government at the University at Buffalo. He also attended UB Law School. Rev. Jones' studies at UB were interrupted by Army service during World War II.  He served stateside after  becoming the only African American in his Officer Candidate School graduating class at Fort Monmouth, N. J.  He served with the 15th Signal Corps Regiment, where he was a cryptograph security officer.   He was a member of the famed Tuskegee Air Corps.   At UB, Rev. Jones played on the football team and, in 1941, he became the first black member of an integrated UB football team to play on a field south of the Mason-Dixon Line. (The night before the game, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Mr. Jones stayed at the home of Carl J. Murphy, owner and publisher of the Afro American newspaper because hotels in the area wouldn't let him stay with his white teammates!)   Rev. Jones received many honors and awards during his life, including the 100 Most Outstanding Buffalonians of the Century.  He entered the ministry late in life and became an associate minister at Bethel AME Church.  Rev. Leeland Newton Jones Jr. is buried in section 31 in Forest Lawn.

     

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    Forest Lawn

    (716) 885-1600
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    Buffalo, NY 14209

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    Lakeside Cemetery 4973 Rogers Road
    Hamburg , NY 14075
    (716) 649-5507

    Saint Matthew's Cemetery 180 French Road
    West Seneca, NY 14224
    (716) 822-1960

    Williamsville Cemetery 5402 Main Street
    Williamsville, NY 14221
    (716) 885-1600

    Gethsemane Cemetery 201 Reist Street
    Williamsville, NY 14221
    716-332-2236

    Forest Lawn Cremation Company 901 West Delavan Ave
    Buffalo, NY 14209
    (716) 885-3079

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