Mary A. Jones

Born in Ravenna, Ohio, on December 20, 1931, she was the elder child of Croatian immigrants, John Banjazek and Roza (Sokeč) Banjazek, who built her childhood home on 441 South Diamond Street. Mary raised her four children as a single mother in Ravenna and later in Kent, where she worked as a housekeeper at Kent State University, retiring with disabilities after more than 20 years there.

After her children left home, Mary continued to love, pray for, and support them whenever she could. She was a devoted Catholic who stayed close to the sacraments, even after she could not drive herself to Mass. She spent her declining years of health at her home in Kent, watching and praying with the priests and sisters of EWTN. During her hardest months of declining health, she was especially loved and helped by Home Instead caregiver, Danni Stevenson.

Besides her parents, Mary was predeceased by her beloved younger brother, Mark Banjazek of Ravenna, in 2015.

Mary leaves behind her four children: Barbara Emmons of Livermore, Colorado, Bob Jones (Sandy) of Ellet, Ohio, Rosemary Tangen (Eric) of St. Charles, Minnesota, and John Paul Jones of Grafton, Ohio, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are with Wood-Kortright-Borkoski Funeral Home in Ravenna, Ohio. Although there will be no calling hours, a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick Church in Kent, Ohio, Friday, July 25, 2025, at 10 AM with Fr. William Wainio presiding. Burial will follow at St. Mary Cemetery in Ravenna.

In lieu of flowers, Mary would be grateful if you sent a gift of financial support to EWTN, whose work she fervently believed in.

Condolences and memories can be shared at www.wood-kortright-borkoski.com