HAMPSTEAD – Dr. James Grady Jones, Sr. "The Country Doctor", 89, passed away on Tuesday May 16, 2023, at his home surrounded by his loving family. Born December 19, 1933 in Pembroke, NC, he was preceded in death by his parents, Alton Bruce Jones Sr and Aggie Nora Revels, his older sister Gloria Jones Deese Simmons, and younger brothers, Ray Jones and Larry Jones.

Dr Jones was well known across the state as an influential family physician and professor of medicine at East Carolina University with a distinguished record of service to the state. Throughout his career he demonstrated a continuing commitment to the education of medical students. He was particularly dedicated to efforts of recruiting and training physicians to deliver care to the poor and rural communities in eastern North Carolina. A member of the Lumbee tribe, Dr Jones was raised with his four siblings by his paternal grandparents Arthur C and Dovie L Jones on a rural farm in Pembroke, NC. He helped support the family by delivering newspapers to the local community. It was here his faith in God and admiration of Dr Albert Schweitzer informed his desire to become a medical missionary. This faith guided his vision and his actions. Upon graduation from Pembroke High School in 1951, Dr Jones earned a two-year degree from Mars Hill College. He continued his education at Wake Forest University, then attended Bowman Gray School of Medicine. He was not only the first Native American but also the first minority to integrate both schools. It was during his tenure at Bowman Gray he came home to support the Lumbee tribe at the historic Battle of Hayes Pond. After a rotating internship at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, he served his country in the United States Navy as a medical officer at Camp Lejeune Marine Corp Base. Following an honorable discharge in 1962, he joined his classmate Tom Kitchen, MD and started the JonesKitchen Clinic in Jacksonville. Dr Jones was active in the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, serving as president in 1972. It was at this time he learned of the lack of generalist physicians to provide care to North Carolina's most vulnerable citizens. He became a passionate advocate lobbying the legislature for the establishment of a new medical school with the express mission to train more family physicians and primary care physicians to serve rural parts of the state. He was instrumental in the development of the Family Medicine program at East Carolina University's new school of medicine and went on to serve as the founding chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Associate Dean for Rural Health for two decades. In 1994, he was appointed by Governor James B Hunt Jr as the first Executive Director of the North Carolina Health Planning Commission. Dr Jones was elected President of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a national organization, in 1988 and continued his advocacy by establishing a Student Scholarship program to further the interest of medical students in Family Medicine. More locally he also helped found the North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program which funds students to develop programs to serve underserved communities. He served on the board of trustees of Coastal Carolina Community College and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke serving the later as Board Chair. Amongst his awards are the Order of the Long Leaf Pine given in 1988 by Gov James G Martin, and honorary doctorate degrees from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Mars Hill University. In January of this year, he was honored through funds raised by friends and family with a Distinguished Professorship in Family Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine. He was described by other doctors as a "Giant in medicine in North Carolina" and was known for his famous saying, " The quality of your health care should NOT be determined by your ZIP Code." Indeed, he concluded his medical career as a simple "country doctor" in Maple Hill, NC. He never retired from sharing his faith and continued to teach Sunday School and participate in a Clinton Men's Bible Study until his death.

He is survived by his devoted wife Michelle Fleeman Jones of Hampstead; his children Reverend James Grady Jones Jr of Elizabeth City and Robert Glenn Jones (Christie) of Surf City; grandchildren, Chase S Jones of Wilmington and Gunnar B Jones of Surf City; siblings Alton Bruce Jones Jr (Peggy) of Raleigh, and Janice Jones Schroeder of Rolesville, and several nieces and nephews whom he loved very much. The family would like to recognize his compassionate caregiver and "partner in crime," Ms Jannie Graham of Atkinson.

Visitation will be held on Friday May 26, 2023, from 5 - 7 pm at Hampstead Baptist Church, 67 Factory Rd, Hampstead NC. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at 11 am at Topsail High School, 245 N. St Johns Church Rd. Hampstead NC.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: The Arthur C And Dovie L Jones Endowed Scholarship at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke online at www.uncp.edu/give/jones And/or North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians Medical Student Endowment www.ncafp.com/jimjones