Jeep

Jeep. Devoted to People: His Family, Community, City and County. , Dr. Clarence "Jeep" Jones. Impacted thousands of lives one person at a time. Born on April 17, 1933, Jeep grew up a block from Madison Park High, formerly Oakburn Avenue., How did Jeep get his nickname? As a boy growing up in Roxbury, Clarence Jones would pass by a neighborhood dog named "Jeep." Initially the dog harassed and barked at him when he passed, but eventually they became good friends and the dog followed him everywhere. Jeep was a small kid and the dog was big, so his friends started to call the dog "Big Jeep" and him "Little Jeep.", 5'5 but a giant of a point guard. Jeep attended Winston Salem State University (WSSU) after earning a basketball scholarship. In 1953, Jeep helped the WSSU Rams win their first ever CIAA Championship. He was inducted into the USSU C.E. "Big House" Gaines Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. After graduating, Jeep served two years in the Army. He then returned to Boston where he began his civic career, volunteered as a referee for youth basketball programs and co-founded BNBL and Boston Shootout., On his own time and on his own dime, Jeep and a good friend, Michael Haynes, took neighborhood students on tours of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). He offered a guiding hand to generations who had no idea that they could go to college and helped to launch many successful careers. While Jeep was teaching at the Dearborn School, he spent his own personal time giving students historical tours of Roxbury so they could learn about and appreciate the history of their own neighborhood. Jeep was instrumental in getting countless people their jobs. He did this and much more because of his devotion to people and with no expectation of recognition.