Phyllis Gene (Bambusch) Jones

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Jones, Phyllis Gene (Bambusch) Born May 29, 1923, Fargo, North Dakota, child of Rosina Belle (Pinkham) and Joseph C. Bambusch; died September 8, 2013, in St. Paul. She was married to Dwight Bangs Jones on May 29, 1945. Mr. Jones, managing editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, died in 1958. Her second marriage was to Dr. David D. Norman on Oct. 9, 1970, and they resided in Grey Cloud township. He passed away in 1983. Mrs. Jones graduated from Harding High School in 1940, Macalester College in 1944 (BA), and William Mitchell College of Law in 1960 (LL.B.). Mrs. Jones worked as an Associated Press wire photo operator, 1943-45 and as a reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1945-46. She served as assistant Ramsey County (MN) attorney, 1960-71, general counsel for the Minnesota Urban County Attorneys Board, 1971-73; and director of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association, 1973-75. She was in private practice in St. Paul and Cottage Grove from 1975-1984 and was appointed as a district court judge in the 10th Judicial District in 1983, where she served until retiring in 1993. Mrs. Jones was active in DFL politics for many years, serving as Ramsey County chairwoman in 1956. She ran unsuccessfully for St. Paul City Council in 1954 and served as supervisor on the Grey Cloud town board in the 1970s. She was interested in the history of her town and was active in the Washington County Historical Association. She was the first woman to serve as an attorney in the Ramsey County Attorney's office. She was a member of the Minnesota Women Lawyers Assn., serving as president in 1977. She also served on the Alumni Board of Macalester College. Judge Jones travelled extensively, visiting all seven continents. She was the first member of Unity Unitarian Church to visit the partner church in Homorodszentpeter, Romania, in 1993. Judge Jones promoted the full participation of women in civic and professional affairs. She is regarded as setting a model for professionalism in the Minnesota legal community at a time when few women practiced law. She offered respect and dignity to all who appeared before her in court and those who worked with her in judicial administration. In addition to her parents and husbands, Mrs. Jones was predeceased by her sisters Mary (Robert) Rangier and Virginia (Harry) Roed and step-daughter Eugenie Norman Johnson. She is survived by children, Stephanie (Phillip) Martineau of Pittsburgh, PA, Jacqueline (Harry) Ridge of Escondido, CA, and Kent Carroll Jones of New York; grandchildren, Amy Rose Zelezen, San Francisco, CA, Meghan Martineau and Kelly Martineau, both of Los Angeles, CA; step-children Will (Julie) Norman, John (Rhonda) Norman, and Katherine Norman; several step- grandchildren; sisters Beverly (Bohn) Engell, Josephine Teare, Anita (Wesley) Miller, Sherry Osborne, and many nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held Friday, September 13, 2013, at 3 p.m. at Unity-Unitarian Church, 733 Portland Avenue, St. Paul. Parking is available in a lot at the corner of Portland and St. Albans. A reception will follow the service in the parish hall with burial later in Grey Cloud township cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Minnesota Parks and Trails, the Washington County Historical Society, and the Unity Unitarian Church partner church project.

Published on September 11, 2013