Pepperdine senior David “Davy” Jones died Wednesday after a car accident on Malibu Canyon Road Monday morning.
By Joann Groff
Assistant News Editor
On a day that opened with soft rain and dark clouds, and closed with bright lightning, Pepperdine said goodbye to one of its own forever.
Senior David “Davy” Jones died Wednesday following a head-on collision in Malibu Canyon earlier this week. Memorial services have been set for Friday at 1 p.m. in the chapel.
Around 11:45 a.m. Monday, Jones steered his car onto the canyon road, the same route he had driven hundreds of times during the past three and a half years. He was leaving his 10 a.m. philosophy class, with some time to spare before his religion class scheduled for later in the day. About a mile and a half into the canyon, Jones’ car struck another — the details on what caused the accident are still unclear.
California State Highway Patrol officers say their investigation is still underway.
Students watched as the helicopter took JONES
off from Alumni Park, heading to the scene
where Jones was airlifted by the Los Angeles Fire Department to UCLA Westwood Hospital.
The other driver, whose name was not released, was released from the hospital the next day.
Jones’ parents, Edith and Woody, were in Prague in the Czech Republic at a conference when the accident occurred and flew home immediately upon hearing the news. Jones was pronounced brain dead Tuesday, but the doctors kept him on life support until his family arrived later that night. After the Jones’ other son got into town, the family decided together they would let Davy go in the morning.
University Chaplain D’Esta Love said the family struggled with their decision.
“I expected that before Convocation he would have already been taken off,” Love said. “At the last minute, they decided they hadn’t had the chance to talk to the neurologist. So they at least wanted to give themselves that opportunity to talk to him, see what had been done and what he knew before they made their final decision.”
After some more time to prepare, the family unplugged the machines at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Last night 20 of Jones’ friends got together to worship and pray together. Jones’ mother, father, brother, Andy, and uncle are spending time together with Jamie Garcia, Davy’s fiancée, a graduate of Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy. The two had planned to marry May 8, one week after Jones’ graduation.
Jones’ best friend, Jim Edmonds, went with his girlfriend, Emily, and Davy to Santa Barbara to find a site for the wedding. He said they found a beautiful vineyard in Santa Barbara for Jones and Garcia to exchange their vows. Edmonds said Garcia, as well as music and his devotion to God, were the center of his life.
“Davy played in the jazz band,” Edmonds said, who is also from Jones’ hometown of Houston, Texas. “He was a bass player and an avid electronic musician. Between music, his faith and his fiancée, Jamie — those are his passions. They are all so important to him.”
Jones’ contributions to the Pepperdine Jazz Band were a big part of his time at the university. He also spent time in London, studied Greek, and attended Community Bible Study, a weekly study which included members like Mark Davis, dean of Student Affairs, who was very close to Jones.
“He loved life and loved learning about life,” Davis said. “He always brought his Greek Bible to CBS, and we enjoyed his insights from the original language — and from an original thinker.”
Davis said that Jones’ intellectual contributions were overshadowed by his humble nature.
“What impressed me most about Davy was his humility,” Davis said. “Even though he was so gifted and bright, he was completely humble and gentle. He used his gifts to bless others … ”
Edmonds said his faith was something he embraced with every part of his being.
“Davy was and is a really, really perfect example of the growth and the change in someone’s heart,” Edmonds said. “He searched for a lot of things in a lot of places and when he found something he knew was worth pursuing, which was his faith in God, he really went after it with all of his heart. It became all he was about.”
Jones was planning on attending Fuller Theological Seminary next year. He was a Humanities major with a minor in philosophy.
Dr. David Gibson, philosophy professor, taught Jones in four different classes, and was “as close to someone as a professor could be with a student,” he said. Gibson had spoken to Jones about his future at Fuller after their philosophy class Monday morning. Jones left class and headed home, leaving Pepperdine for the last time.
Edmonds said he and other friends, find comfort in knowing Jones is in a better place — a place he yearned for.
“Just know that these things happen, and it can happen to you and anyone you
know,” Edmonds said. “And that day was just … I don’t want to go so far as to say I know he was ready, but I can say that if it came down to a choice … If he was standing there, ready to go to his next life, or to stay in this one, he would go running into the next one. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss him ridiculously. It just means I know that’s where he wanted to go, and that gives every single person that knew him and loved him strength right now.”
November 13, 2003
