VIRGINIA BEACH — City Councilmember Louis Jones died on Saturday, June 18, while campaigning to return to the elected body he first joined in 1982.
Jones, 86, was a former mayor and vice mayor of the city. This past week, he had decided he would seek another term in office in the November election.
Jones was campaigning when he passed away, according to reporting by WAVY-TV’s Brett Hall, and people who had discussed Jones’ decision to run said he seemed energized to do so during an event only hours before his passing.
Jones served as mayor in the 1980s and as vice mayor for 17 years until 2018. That year, following the resignation of former Mayor Will Sessoms, the city again turned to Jones to serve as mayor until then-Councilmember Bobby Dyer won a special election to complete Sessoms’ term.
Jones was known for his skill in shepherding the budget process and in negotiating resolutions to complex public issues, perhaps most notably the Lake Gaston project that secured a reliable water supply for the city in the late 1990s – though only after many years of effort.
“Louis was blessed with extraordinary business acumen and the ability to look at a situation, assess it and cut to the core of the problem,” Dyer said in a statement released on Saturday by the city. “Above all, his talent to inspire people resulted in so many good things for our city over the years. …
“Because of his belief in what he did and his graciousness in working with anyone and everyone, we are a far, far better city,” Dyer said. “I will miss him more than I can say.”
City Councilmember Barbara Henley, who served as vice mayor in the 1980s while Jones was mayor, on Saturday said she often relied upon Jones as a sounding board over the years, trusting his thinking and perspective.
“He was good to everybody, and he was just as honest as could be,” Henley said.
“You could just count on him to be solid,” she added. “He’s just been the person I would go to for advice to see what he was thinking.”
Jones, who was the president and owner of Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, also was known as “Mr. Bayside,” the area he represented for nearly 36 years on the council.
Earlier this year, Jones told The Independent News his work was busier than ever, and he said he had not decided whether he might seek reelection under the new district voting system that went in effect for this year’s local elections.
Yet Jones said he was considering a run because there were still things he wanted to accomplish, particularly the 21 projects that will be funded by the recent flood mitigation referendum.
“I think it’s probably the second-most major project we’ve had in Virginia Beach, since Lake Gaston,” Jones said on Tuesday, Feb. 22, speaking of a flood mitigation program overwhelmingly backed by voters. “I would like to see it through.”
Yet, on Tuesday, June 14, Jones told a reporter he had not yet made a decision about seeking reelection.
That changed by week’s end.
“He was very energized about running,” said former City Councilmember Jim Wood, who followed Jones as vice mayor and who saw Jones on Saturday morning.
Jones was among several members of the council who gathered with Wood for the dedication of the rescue station in Thalia as the James L. Wood EMS Station. Jones, Dyer, Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson, Wood and others gathered together for a photo.
“There’s not a major deal or project he wasn’t involved in,” Wood said. “His skill in negotiating saved the city millions and millions of dollars.”
Regarding Lake Gaston, Wood added: “He brought water to Virginia Beach.”
“He was a great businessman,” Wilson said on Saturday, June 18. “He did so much for this city. You can’t imagine.”
Lake Gaston was at the top of the list.
“Could you imagine what this city would be like without it?” Wilson said.
Lake Gaston project provided Virginia Beach with a steady water supply after 15 years of negotiations with other municipalities and no small amount of litigation. In 2007, Jones told The Virginian-Pilot the project was likely the most significant accomplishment for the city during his time on council.
On Saturday, Tom Leahy, who was the Lake Gaston project manager and worked closely with Jones, said Jones’ would live on through that effort.
The city lacked a dependable water supply prior to the project, Leahy said. Years of effort led to a pipeline project that involved multiple municipalities and carries water 76 miles from Brunswick County to a Norfolk-owned reservoir in Suffolk before the water makes its way to Virginia Beach.
The project was begun in the early 1980s and completed in the late 1990s.
“He was a true leader,” said Leahy, a former city public works director who served as city manager before he retired. “A tremendous amount of the success of the Lake Gaston project was due to him.”
Leahy said Lake Gaston was the biggest project the city had been involved in at the time, and it led to a number of other accomplishments in Virginia Beach, such as growth at the Oceanfront and the creation of Town Center.
He noted that Jones was part of many other successes for the city, such as the convention center.
“He’s the kind of council member you just wish there were more of,” Leahy said. “A great leader for the city. Just a great leader for the city.”
Jones held a degree in business administration from the Norfolk division of the College of William & Mary at Norfolk, which is now Old Dominion University, and he graduated Echols College of Mortuary Science.
He served on the City Council as the Bayside representative from 1982 to 1986 and 1990 to 1998 under the former borough system and, following the shift to district voting, from 1998 until his death. He served as mayor from 1982 to 1984, and he was the vice mayor from 2001 to 2018.
Other leadership roles include formerly serving as chairperson of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and as president of the Virginia State Board of Funeral Directors
Ed. — This is a developing story. Full coverage will appear in the Sunday, July 3, print edition.
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