Lela Elizabeth Warrick

Public School-Teacher, 1930

Married Apr 1934 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Lewis Cogley Jones
Born 09 Feb 1905 in [Philadelphia], Pennsylvania
Died 29 Dec 1990 in [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]

To them was born:

Notes

• Lela's age in the census records: in 1910, age 2/12; in 1920, age 9; in 1930, age 20.
• Afro-American (Baltimore, Md.), 07 Apr 1934:
  Warrick-Jones Marriage is Solemnized in Philadelphia
    PHILADELPHIA, Pa.–Miss Lela Warrick, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Richard Warrick, became the bride of Cogley Jones, at the home of her parents here Sunday.
    The Rev. Robert Bagnall, rector of St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, officiated.
    Wearing a gown of blush queen satin, designed by Mrs. Ethel Chapman, with long sleeves, a veil that flowed from a cap held by orange blossoms, and carrying a bouquet of gardenias and orange blossoms, the bride was given in marriage by her father.
    She was attended by her sister, Miss Louise Warrick, who wore a peach net over crepe with turquoise blue hat, slippers and gloves and carried roses.
    Four-year-old Vivian Mary Connor, in peach net, and carrying a basket of sweet pea petals, served as flower girl.
    Mrs. Warrick selected for her daughter's wedding a gown of peach lace with which she wore a corsage of sweet peas.   At the reception following the wedding, guests included: ...
    The bride and groom left for a honeymoon in Pleasantville, N.J., where on Sunday night the Clarence Allmonds will entertain for them in that city.   For traveling, the bride wore a rose-colored ensemble with contrasting accessories in brown.
• Obituary, Philadelphia Inquirer, 01 Jun 1990:
  LELA JONES, 80, RETIRED TEACHER
  Ralph Cipriano, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Lela Jones, 80, of Mount Airy, a retired schoolteacher who dealt with segregation in the 1930s by helping to found Northeasterners Inc., a black women's social and civic club, and Jack & Jill of America Inc., a social organization for black children and families, died Sunday at Chestnut Hill Hospital.
    Mrs. Jones was the second president of Northeasterners Inc., a group of bright young socialites who founded three social clubs in 1930 in New York, Philadelphia and Washington.
    With the Depression, the club changed its focus and set up a scholarship fund. Since then, the club, which has expanded to 12 chapters, has made regular donations to organizations such as the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund and the National Urban League.
    In April, the club presented its archives to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem in a moving ceremony.
    At the ceremony, Mrs. Jones had begun reminiscing about the group's beginnings when tears welled up in her eyes and she could not continue.
    Other members paid tribute yesterday to Mrs. Jones' contribution.
    "She had that ability to hold people together and pull out the best that was in everybody," said Anne Garrott, a longtime friend.
    "She was so well-organized and she was an inspiration for the young people."
    In 1938, Mrs. Jones was one of the founders of Jack & Jill of America Inc., a group that sought to provide social activities for black children at a time when racial segregation was the accepted standard for most communities.
    That year, Mrs. Jones and a friend, Marion Turner Stubbs, got together with nine of their friends to form a club that would provide activities for their children, such as swimming classes, variety shows and holiday parties.
    Today, Jack & Jill has 7,000 families participating in 187 chapters across the country. It is a service organization as well, with the Philadelphia chapter making regular contributions to the United Negro College Fund, the Tribune Charities, the Afro-American Museum and the American Women's Heritage Society of Philadelphia.
    "The nice thing about it is that from this little nucleus it grew," Mrs. Jones said in a 1988 interview about the 50th anniversary of Jack & Jill.
    "It was like having a family all over," she said.
    Mrs. Jones' son, Lewis Cogley Jones Jr., was 4 when the group was formed.
    "It was one way to get kids together," he said. "Some of my lifelong friends were Jack and Jillers."
    The former Lela Warrick was a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls and the Philadelphia Normal School. She pursued graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She taught elementary grades in the Philadelphia School District for 25 years, retiring from the Brooks School in 1968.
    Mrs. Jones' many interests included travel and bridge, but her most consuming passion was her love of family and her many friends, her son said.
    "She was always thinking about other people," her son said. "Even when she was in the hospital, she would say, 'I'll try to get out of bed myself, don't bother the nurses.'"
    Besides her son, she is survived by her husband of 56 years, Lewis Cogley Jones Sr.; a sister, and two grandaughters.
    Services are private.

Sources

• 1910 - U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Co., Philadelphia, Ward 30, E.D. 698, Sheet No. 1B [=19 verso], 11-17, 726 S. 16th St., 15 Apr 1910
• 1920 - U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Co., Philadelphia, Ward 30, E.D. 975, Sheet No. 5A [=40], 88-105, 726 S. 16th St., 08 Jan 1920
• 1930 - U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Co., Philadelphia, Ward 30, E.D. 51-110, Sheet No. 12A [=12], 138-147, 726 S. 16th St., 12 Apr 1930
• SSDI 193-32-5121: Lela W Jones