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VIRGINIA BEACH — Former Mayor Louis Jones, fondly known as “Mr. Bayside,” will soon have a landmark building in the district named after him.
The City Council voted unanimously to change the Bayside Recreation Center to The Louis R. Jones Bayside Recreation Center at its Dec. 13 meeting.
“This would mean so much to him, and it means so much to our family,” said his widow, Ellen, who spoke after Mayor Bobby Dyer presented her with the framed council resolution. “We know his heart was for the whole city, but the tip-top of his heart was Bayside.”
Jones, 86, died in June. The Joneses were married for almost seven decades and had four children and 12 grandchildren. Many of their family members attended the meeting.
Jones served on the City Council for nearly 36 years. He was appointed interim mayor in 2018 when Sessoms resigned. Jones also served as mayor from 1982-84 and as vice mayor from 2001-18. He died while campaigning for a ninth term on council.
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The City Council appointed Delceno Miles to Jones’ seat last summer. Her term ends on Dec. 31.
“He was a tremendous asset,” said Miles, who worked with Jones on projects in the Bayside area. “He is sorely missed.”
Jones was instrumental in completing the Lake Gaston pipeline deal to provide drinking water to the city and in bringing utilities to Burton Station, a historically Black neighborhood.
He considered the council part of his extended family and would send poinsettias to his fellow council members or their wives at Christmas. Council member Sabrina Wooten thanked his widow for continuing the tradition this year.
Several speakers before the vote said that while they agree it’s appropriate to honor Jones, they want recognition for another member of the community: E. George Minns.
Wooten sponsored a proposal last year to rename Birdneck Road in Seatack after Minns, a longtime community activist who died in 2019. However, the item was deferred indefinitely to give Seatack residents more time to provide feedback. Tammie Mullins-Rice, president of the Seatack Civic League, said the group plans to bring back a proposal to honor Minns in 2024.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com