Dave Jones spent a lifetime creating music. While he passed away from cancer last year, his family is working to make sure his legacy lives on in the next generation of local musical talent.
“He loved Lowell. He loved music,” his wife Pam shares. Now, she is planning to combine those loves into a scholarship program that will support young musicians in the community.
This Friday, there will be a fundraiser to raise money for a new Dave Jones Music Scholarship. The event will take place at Sound Check, which is a part of the Lowell United Methodist Church at 621 E. Main Street. Tickets are $15 each with musical performances from Dave’s family and friends running from 7-9pm.
Prolific Musical Career Spans Decades
Music might have been in Dave’s genes. His father, Bill Jones, was the first mayor of Lowell when it became a city and was a musician on the Showboat. His mother, Ruth Jones, was a teacher and also a part of the Village Players, a forebearer to the Thebes Players and the current Lowell Arts theater program.
Dave played trombone in the band, beginning in middle school, and graduated with the Lowell High School Class of ’70. He then went on to a successful career that often involved performing with family and friends. Throughout the years, he was a member of the following:
- Great Lakes Band
- Stillwater
- Alive & Well
- “D” Avenue
As “D” Avenue, Dave and Pam performed as a duo from 1983 until around 1996. Together, they recorded the song “Ledger of Love” which made an appearance in the FX series Snowfall only a few years ago.
“Dave was extremely talented and gifted in arranging music and writing music,” Pam says. “He was constantly creating. I haven’t even scratched the surface of some of the things he recorded.”
Pam and Dave, along with their son Ryder and a couple friends, were also among the first to see the potential of concerts on the Riverwalk. They performed during one Riverwalk Festival, and Pam tends to think that helped jumpstart the idea of a regular summer concert series.
Life Not Defined by Illness
Dave lived with Crohn’s disease, but Pam said that never slowed him down. “He never allowed that to define him in any way,” she explains.
Then, in December 2023, he was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. That felt like a “slap in the face,” according to Pam. But again, Dave didn’t let that stop him.
He and Pam visited Sleeping Bear Dunes, a favorite spotfor the couple, and he made a point to walk every day.
Of course, he also continued to write and perform. He was part of the music ministry at Lowell United Methodist Church – his longtime spiritual home – until August 2024. And two weeks before he passed away, he played at Impact Church with his son Ryder Jones, who was then the creative arts director there.
“Music was just something that kept him going,” Pam says.
On October 28, 2024, Dave passed away, leaving behind countless loved ones including his wife, son and daughter Marina.
Fundraiser for the Dave Jones Music Scholarship
In honor of Dave’s legacy, Pam is working to create the Dave Jones Music Scholarship. She envisions an annual scholarship for a high school senior who plans to pursue a career in music.
She would also like to collect gently used instruments for middle school students and perhaps help fund private lessons for those who can’t afford them.
To make that happen, she is spearheading a fundraiser event for this Friday, March 28. It is a fitting date because Dave’s birthday was March 27. To celebrate and honor the man they worked with so closely, many of Dave’s former bandmates and friends will be performing during the event. These include the following, among others:
- Ryder Jones
- Cindy Kropf
- Roger MacNaughton
- Mitch McMahon
Those who can’t attend the fundraiser but want to support the scholarship fund can send a check earmarked for the Dave Jones Music Scholarship to the Lowell United Methodist Church.
For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.
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