'She helped me be a better mom'

May 11—CUMBERLAND — Nicole Brant was in eighth grade at Braddock Middle School when she learned she was going to be a mother.

At that time, in the late 1980s, she felt the world viewed her as a contagious bad example.

She was stigmatized and bullied.

"I was asked to be home tutored," she said. "I was lost."

She was 14 years old when her son was born.

"I was a single mother," Brant said. "I didn't want to go to school."

Reluctantly, she entered her freshman year at Fort Hill High School.

That's where Brant met Darlene Jones, a nursing instructor who also coordinated the Teen Parent Program for Allegany County Public Schools.

With Jones' encouragement, Brant joined the group, which featured expert speakers on topics, including breast feeding, college, nutrition and financing.

"She was just a remarkable woman," Brant said of Jones. "She gave me understanding but no excuses."

Jones organized an effort that provided supplies for teen mothers, including maternity and baby clothes.

"The emotional support I got from Darlene ... really made a difference," Brant said. "She helped me be a better mom."

'The extra support'

Brant — who worked part-time jobs while she was a student, graduated on schedule from high school and got a scholarship to attend Allegany College of Maryland — also had help from the women in her life at home.

"My mom watched my son while I went to school and work," she said of Peggy Clark.

"My grandmother was so intelligent ... she proofread my college papers," Brant said of Ruth Williams, who died in 2001.

"I could not have done it without them," she said.

"It was the extra support that pushed me along the way to make me who I am today," Brant said.

Today, Brant, 50, is manager of the Allegany County Human Resources Development Commission's Office of Opportunity.

Her son, Chad Painter, has two kids, Austin, 9, and Brayden, 12.

'She loved people'

Darlene Jones, of Frostburg, died in 2003 at age 59.

She left behind her husband John Jones, son David Jones and his wife Elaine, daughter Christi Reichert and husband Jason, five grandchildren, two sisters, a brother and 17 nieces and nephews.

"The highlight of her varied professional career was working as an elementary school guidance counselor at West Side and George's Creek," her obituary stated. "She loved people, all kinds of people including long-time friends, her 'church family,' and people she would meet for the first time."

Darlene Jones lived each day joyfully and followed a special motto, the obituary stated.

"The world may be a little better, because I was important in the life of a child."

'Sense of calmness'

Rick Cooper, ACM's associate dean and nursing program coordinator, was a student of Darlene Jones in the early 1980s when she taught nursing at ACM, formerly called Allegany Community College.

"I found her to be one of the most kind, caring compassionate faculty members," he said of Darlene Jones. "You felt comfortable and you were able to express yourself."

Darlene Jones had a "sense of calmness, fairness and making every student feel important," he said.

Cooper went on to teach and impact thousands of nurses who have served the community.

Throughout his life, his mom, Wilma Winner, 85, has been supportive, Cooper said.

"She only wanted me to be happy in life," he said.

"My mom taught me everyone is equal," Cooper said. "We were all made by God."

'Needs of others'

David Jones is vice president of advancement and community relations and executive director of the Allegany College of Maryland Foundation.

He talked of his mom's growing legacy.

"There are so many lasting accomplishments, most of which are the lives that were impacted, changed for the better through her interaction with the community in which she lived, served and loved," he said.

One example is Brant, who progressed from teen mom to community leader and today empowers Allegany County residents "through partnerships, collaboration and resources to change lives and improve the community," Jones said.

As a public school counselor, Darlene Jones provided positive influence and support for thousands of elementary and middle school students, as well as her colleagues, he said.

Today, the Darlene Jones Integrative Health Memorial Scholarship, endowed to support students in perpetuity, supports students in the clinical phase of any ACM allied health program, human service associate or social work transfer curriculum, Jones said.

More than 20 students "have received this scholarship since it was established in 2003," he said.

His mom's values also continue through her kids.

David Jones and his wife "have instilled the importance of community, integrity and civic responsibility into the lives of our three adult children," he said.

"We live, as does my sister and her spouse who reside in Georgia, by the concept of servant leadership, paying close attention to the needs of others, and always putting the interests of others ahead of self," Jones said.

"As I reflect on my mother and her legacy, she loved people and was a fierce advocate for the underdog," Jones said. "She provided support, love and encouragement to help better the lives of others, especially young women."

His father John and Darlene Jones were married 37 years.

John Jones credits his late mother-in-law Violet Caldwell of Meadville, Pennsylvania, for nurturing his wife's desire to help others.

"Her mother set a wonderful example," he said. "(Darlene Jones) inherited a lot of her mother's characteristics."

'Totally heart oriented'

Cherie Snyder retired from ACM in 2021 as a full professor of human services and now works part time as a professor in the department of behavioral and social sciences, as well as in the integrative health program.

She met Darlene Jones at First Presbyterian Church in Frostburg in the early 1990s.

"She was in the women's Sunday school class with me," Snyder said.

"I connected with her (and) she became one of my regular and best ACM human services field work supervisors," she said.

Many students Darlene Jones mentored were single moms who wanted to get an associate degree and build a better life for themselves and their kids, Snyder said.

"Darlene believed in them and embraced my students, always pushing them to keep going and to never give up despite the challenges they faced," she said.

Darlene Jones was interested in healing the whole person and appreciated complements to medical care, Snyder said.

After Darlene Jones died, David Jones and Snyder partnered to expand integrative health at ACM.

Snyder, who has four children and five grandkids, talked of the long-lasting impact Darlene Jones created.

"A mother's love and spirit lives on through her son who just happened to end up at ACM and whose passion and commitment to building strong communities truly matched hers," she said.

Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.