Katie Jones

The final school bell has rung.

Katie D. Jones passed peacefully at her Wisconsin Dells home in late July, 2026.

She was born on September 22, 1951, in Bryan, Texas to Arnester and Helen Ruth (Anderson) Jones, the third of ten children. After the family moved to Rawlings, Wyoming, Katie attended local schools, moving to Wisconsin where she continued her education and made her home.

Katie was a true Renaissance woman: self-taught gourmet chef, avid gardener, woodworker, artist, musician, justice advocate, and world traveler. She was a lover of nature and enjoyed biking, canoeing, and tennis. Her great passion was fishing and hiking along the many rivers near her home.

Ms. Jones always served those in need and championed all her students. Early in her career she provided prison residents counseling and taught mental health and coping skills. She was a University of Wisconsin (UW) – System Educational Advisor, and liaison for the 26 UW campuses. Her high school career began when Milt McPike, iconic principal of Madison East High School, invited her to teach history. Her broad and varied talent to reach people made her a much beloved teacher. For Ms. Jones, teaching was a privilege to be taken seriously. Her guiding focus of social justice from a critical thinking lens, offered her students the exceptional opportunity to see history from a multi-layered perspective, including all people.

Her soft yet powerful voice created a teaching style that was direct, clear and thought- provoking. Katie was not only a teacher/educator for Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), she was an advisor to the UW–School of Education, a Diversity and Multicultural Workshop instructor for teachers and high school history teacher for over 20 years to students at East and Malcolm Shabazz. She could always be counted on to raise money for inspiring field trips she led to nearby Milwaukee and Chicago cultural centers, South Dakota’s historic Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, indigenous sites in Alaska, and community service in Hawaii, giving students a life-changing educational experience.

Ethnic Studies was her most sought-after class. Students filled her classroom to examine historical and contemporary issues celebrating other civilizations’ contributions and customs. In addition to US, World History, and African American Studies, Katie created innovative courses such as: Cultural Geography, History of the Holocaust, Ethnic Gardening, Street Law, History of Jazz and the Blues, Community Activism, Mirrors of Discrimination and Engineering Disasters in History.

To help young black women realize their potential, she innovated an effective “Sister to Sister Program” to counter anti-social, violence-promoting activities with support and resources for healthier lives. She had zero tolerance for corrupt and poor leaders, tirelessly advocating to improve Madison schools.

Katie was frequently honored as a master teacher as Teacher of the Year, the Human Relations Educator Award, Teacher That Made a Difference Award, the Wisconsin Multicultural Educators Award, and other outstanding teaching recognitions. Graduating seniors often chose her as an Honorary Graduation Marshall.

Summer vacations were spent with Upward Bound and other programs, teaching wellness and coping skills to minority teens at risk for drug use, suicide, or exposure to street gang influences.

Katie earned her K-12 “Broadfield Social Studies” Bachelor of Sciences at UW—Oshkosh, an Educational Policy Studies Masters from UW-Madison, and from Cambridge University, she earned a second Masters in Educational Leadership.

Determined always to serve children, at her very end she arranged for her estate to benefit children’s charities. Many books from her curriculum will be donated to Wisconsin prison libraries. Katie was a good friend to many and is greatly missed.

K.D.’s homework assignment today is this: Take all you learned in her classes, use the insights gained in conversations with her, and put them into motion. Spread the word of her passing, and most importantly gather with friends and loved ones to honor her memory by DOING SOMETHING to make the world a better place...just as she taught you to do. Now let’s get busy making her proud!

And don’t forget her favorite quote: “Don’t trust anyone that isn’t passionately angry about injustice.”

Her former Shabazz and East High school students, fellow teachers, and friends will host a Remembrance Gathering, Sunday, October 25, 2026, at Tenney Park’s John Wall Pavillion, (GPS address 402 N. Thornton Avenue) Madison. Folks who knew, loved and respected her are invited to reconnect between Noon/12:00 p.m. and 2:30 PM. Lunch will be served.

Contributions in Katie’s memory may be made to your favorite children’s charity. Donations supporting a commemorative bench can be made at the Remembrance Gathering or via Skyler at Ryan Funeral Home, 608-249-8257.