MAN HELPED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS DURING HIS LIFE
KINDHEARTED tributes to a highprofile charity worker who died of cancer have left his family ‘overwhelmed.’
James Rodney ‘Rod’ Jones, who helped hundreds of thousands of Romanians over more than three decades, died earlier this month at the age of 74 after a battle with brain cancer.
Such has been the strength of feeling and the number of people who have asked to pay their respects to the Middlesbrough-born man, a special wake will be held in his his hometown to celebrate his life.
He died in his sleep two weeks ago at a care home in Stockton, where he was being looked after in his final weeks.
A funeral for Mr Jones, who dedicated 30 years of his life to charity work in Romania, will be a small, private event per his wishes.
Since then his family has been inundated by messages of sympathy and tales of his good deeds.
His niece, who didn’t want to be named, said: “Uncle Rod was a good, good man. We have been overwhelmed by the messages and hundreds of people asking about the funeral. Uncle Rod wanted the funeral to be private, so we have organised a wake for him where all his friends can go and talk about the good things he did.”
His legacy was tainted by the discovery of a cache of weapons in a storage facility he used in 2019 and Mr Jones had been in and out of prison in his younger days.
But his niece said: “He was a really good man. He helped so many people. The messages have been so lovely. He went to great lengths to help people.”
There are plenty of tales of his generosity closer to home, too.
His niece recalled a story of how one person said that Mr Jones helped out the family of a boy whose father had died, leaving them struggling financially.
Mr Jones took it upon himself to provide the family with festive gifts so that the children woke up to presents on Christmas Day.
His involvement in charity work came out of personal tragedy.
He previously admitted that in his younger days he was a ‘dodgy’ nightclub boss and armed robber but his life changed when his 18-year-old son, Rodney, died in a car crash.
The teen was due to go out on a mission to Romania and as a tribute Mr Jones went in his place and never stopped his work for the orphans there.
His niece said: “He had bought the car for him that crashed and I don’t think Uncle Rod ever forgave himself for that.”
Mr Jones’ ex-wife, Gabriela, who met him while working on a project building toilets for orphans in Romania, said his terrible childhood started him on his downward spiral in his youth.
Despite his efforts to help others, he still got in trouble later in his life.
In 2019 officers searching a Dicken Self Storage unit, used by Mr Jones, found a 9mm pistol kept in a white linen bag, a functioning shortened double-barrel shotgun, three spent cartridges that had been fired from the shotgun, 45,000 assorted cigarettes, a quantity of rolling tobacco and £26,636 in cash.
Mr Jones pleaded guilty to eight firearms charges. With just months to live, he appeared at Teesside Crown Court in January via a video link and was handed a two-year prison term, suspended for 12 months due to his condition.
Friends are invited to go along to his wake from noon on June 30 at The Dickens, in Southfield Road, Middlesbrough. His private funeral service will be held earlier the same day at Kirkleatham Crematorium.