Benjamin R. Jones

Benjamin R. Jones was born on May 29, 1906, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He studied at Wyoming Seminary, where he served as class president, before attending Princeton University, graduating in 1927, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. While at Princeton, Jones participated in debating and managed the freshman and varsity lacrosse teams.

Following law school, Jones served in the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney's office before serving in the United States Navy during World War II. In January 1957, Jones joined the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as an associate justice. He served as an associate justice until his ascension to chief justice in 1972. He retired from the court in 1977. He died on July 24, 1980.

Jones had two sons with his first wife, who both attended Princeton and became attorneys. His first wife died in 1953 and he remarried, to Jane Griffith, who had a son of her own. Jones served as president of the United Fund and trustee of Wyoming Seminary and his church, a Welsh church of the Presbyterian denomination.