Reggie Jones

Reginald "Reggie" L. Jones, the longtime mayor of Dellwood, Missouri, and a pillar of youth work in North St. Louis County, died on 21 August 2026 at the age of 53. Local news and city officials reported his unexpected death the same day. A cause was not made public. For more than a decade he led a small North County city that sat next to Ferguson through unrest, recovery, and a push for new housing and streets. For three decades he also directed the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club, work he often called the only full-time job he had ever held.

Jones was born on 22 July 1973 in St. Louis, the youngest of six children of Frank and Ann Jones. He graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and belonged to Iota Phi Theta Fraternity. Faith mattered to him: he was a member of New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church and was ordained a deacon there in March 2022. Before elective office he spent years with young people as president of the St. Louis Junior Football League from 1999 to 2013 and, from 1995, on staff at the Herbert Hoover Club, rising to club director.

His political path ran through school and city offices. In 2010 he won a seat on the Riverview Gardens School District board. The next year he became Dellwood collector, then 3rd Ward alderman in 2012, and mayor in 2013. A year into that term, the Ferguson uprising after the police killing of Michael Brown Jr. damaged nearby businesses and put North County under a global spotlight. Jones later said he did not want Dellwood to be forgotten. Partners including Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis President Michael P. McMillan credited him with pressing for senior housing and corridor reinvestment along West Florissant Avenue.

As mayor he backed a roughly $7 million bond to rebuild streets and later celebrated strong voter support for further community and infrastructure bonds he framed as a Dellwood renaissance. He also grew the city's Juneteenth Festival into a regional celebration and was known for personal warmth with residents, including a public apology and repair after a child's lemonade stand was shut down by mistake. In 2020 he was elected Ferguson Township committeeman. Colleagues at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis were preparing to honor his 30-year milestone when he died; his wife Rukiya and son Koby accepted the recognition in his place.

Jones is survived by Rukiya, his wife of more than 25 years, four children, and five grandchildren. Wake and funeral services were held in early September 2026 at William C. Harris Funeral Home and New Sunny Mount Baptist Church, with burial at Calvary Cemetery. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and many North County leaders called him a devoted advocate for young people whose courage and compassion shaped Dellwood for more than a decade.