Delcenia Rachel Boyd was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 9, 1938 to her proud parents, Ulysses Simpson and Delcenia Meeks Boyd. She was the last of three children: Ulysses (Diddy) and Theodora (Tedi).

The family moved North and settled in Harlem, New York where she attended Resurrection Catholic School, PS 90, JHS136 and Washington Irving High School. Throughout her school years, she was in love with the arts and studied and performed recitals in modern dance and ballet. In 1957, she along with her sister Tedi, were chosen as performers in the famous all black, “Cotton Club Review, starring the legendary Cab Calloway, at the Moulin Rouge and El Rancho Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada and Miami, Florida.

After she graduated high school, Del also finished secretarial school and worked in various places including the African American Institute where she first learned about her African heritage, which she thought was fascinating, and the United Church of Christ. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Hunter College (Suma Cum Laude), a Masters of Science (MS) degree from Fordham University, and a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from the New School—all located in NYC. Del was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and the National Association of Social Workers. Del taught a middle school in Teaneck, NJ and a high school in Englewood, NJ. After becoming a certified social worker, Del obtained employment with the City of New York (ACS) as a child evaluation specialist and worked there until she retired in 2001.

In addition to her love for the arts, she was a strong advocate of women’s rights, human rights and civil rights for all and proudly participated in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. She did volunteer work at the Red Cross, the Presbyterian Church, her local church and the NAACP where she met and married her husband Benjamin Jones (Ben) in 1962. Del loved to read fiction and non-fiction, listened to all genres of music and enjoyed traveling.

The Jones family was blessed with a beautiful, loving daughter Delcenia E., and soon relocated to Teaneck, NJ, where they joined and became part of the Presbyterian Church of Teaneck.

Delcenia will be missed by her loving husband Benjamin, their daughter, Delcenia E., son-in-law, Anthony, three grandchildren, Joshua, Delcenia J. and Xavier; her sister Theodora and her two daughters Pastors Tedi and Lori; brother-in-law Beresford and his sons, Byron and Diango; and her sister-in-law Dorothy and her husband Reginald, and their daughters Bonnie and Annie and their families; five nephews, Alan, Stephen, Kevin, Brandyn, Joseph, two nieces, Anita and Renee and many other relatives and friends.