Jay Jones died in 1989, an early victim of the AIDS crisis. Diagnosed in 1985, he lived for four more years,

an almost unheard of post-diagnosis life span prior to the advent of more effective drug regimens in the

early 1990’s. At the time of his diagnosis, Jay was working on a Ph.D. in philosophy at Rice University—a

very appropriate pursuit given his talents as a debater and his interest in philosophical thought and

discussion. If anything good can be said to have developed from his illness and death, it is that his

struggle with the disease also resulted in improved end-of-life care for other AIDS patients. While at

Rice, Jay worked part time as a researcher for Dr. Earl Shelp, a Baptist minister and medical ethicist at

the Texas Medical Center in Houston. The two became good friends, and while supporting Jay during his

illness, Dr. Shelp found himself appalled by the plight of AIDS patients in general—particularly the

squalor and neglect that often marked their final living and dying conditions. As a result, he became one

of the first advocates for compassionate care for AIDS victims, and he founded Interfaith Care Partners,

a non-profit organization devoted to providing AIDS patients with adequate living assistance and

medical treatment. Thanks in large part to Dr. Shelp’s support, as well as that of the new organization,

Jay received the best medical and social services available at the time. Those of us who knew Jay will

probably remember his intelligence, his skill in argumentation, his sense of humor, and his sense of fun.

Had he lived longer, I am certain that he could have been an inspirational professor and a significant

vcontributor to the study of philosophy. As a fellow debater, I have many warm memories of the fun

times the speech team had at tournaments all over the state. Jay certainly played a big part in those

experiences, and I am saddened not to be able to see him again. A link to a Texas Monthly article about

Earl Shelp and Jay is listed below.

http://books.google.com/books?id=2SkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA162&lpg=PA162&dq=earl+shelp+houston,+t

x&source=bl&ots=U1V3GUAApH&sig=GIjfHX7RHgzc_QoSp4_QOED2Gt4&hl=en&ei=5ynwTZLJKOSs0AHxj

qHyDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Thanks to Haise Johnson Currie for this information