Join us for our weekly “Rock Reflections,” a series celebrating Trinity alumni. From 48 states to countries worldwide, our graduates are making an impact, and we'll share their stories on Trinity's website and social media.
This week's profile is about Mike Jones '74
Mike Jones ’74 has impacted thousands of lives at Trinity over the past 40 years as a campus ministry volunteer, board member and donor.
Mike enrolled at Trinity a month into his junior year. He had previously attended Alex R. Kennedy Elementary School, Jeffersontown High School and Eastern High School. At the time, Jeffersontown and Eastern were sixth through 12th grade.
“I ran around with Trinity guys, and I knew I wanted to go there,” Mike said. “When I got there, people were very welcoming. I remember Rudy Volz [’73] telling me I was sitting at his table with his friends.”
Mike joined the Pep, Spanish and Drama clubs. The latter made a lifelong impact. Mike served as stage manager for three Trinity Theater productions. At the time, the theater was a converted classroom on the third floor of Old Trinity Hall (A Building for some alumni). Legendary Trinity teachers Billy Bradford H’03 and Rev. Ted Sans H’05 were artistic director and producer, respectively.
“They were both extremely demanding,” Mike said. “They also taught me a lot about having a work ethic. That’s helped me in life and in my career in landscaping and development.”
Mike also remembers going to Mr. Bradford’s classroom after school and playing Motown records.
“Mr. Bradford loved Motown music – Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, Gladys Knight,” Mike said. “We sang our hearts out. I never understood why I didn’t make it into a musical.”
One of Mike’s favorite Trinity memories was hanging out in the Senior Lounge.
“I had an off period each day, and I would go to the lounge,” Mike said. “It was on the first floor of Sheehan Hall (C Building) on the west side of the building. We’d play pool and tell lies.”
Mike also remembers the senior lunch privilege. Seniors were formerly permitted to leave campus for lunch. This tradition was phased out by the early 1990s.
“We were forbidden from going to Dutch’s, but five of us went there for chili and crackers.”
One of Mike’s favorite teachers was Rev. Kevin Caster H’93, who taught English.
“Father Caster brought literature to life,” Mike said. “He was an extraordinary human being. The way he would tell stories and explain plot lines and characters made you want to go deeper into the story.”
Math teacher John Esterle H’05 was another of Mike’s favorites.
“Mr. Esterle took the most boring and awful subject and turned it into an exciting class,” Mike said. “It became a quest to solve the problem. He taught me to chase that answer and then check it to make sure it was correct. I’ve used that ever since.”
“Overall, Trinity taught me how to be a man,” Mike continued. “But, more than anything, it taught me to know that I was loved and that I mattered. It’s been that way all the way through – from the time I was a student to an alum and board member.”
Living the Fourth
One Trinity experience stands out for Mike above all others: Senior Retreat. Mike’s life changed forever in the spring of 1974. Trinity priests Father Ron Domhoff H’98 and Father Dave Zettel ’58 led the school’s first ever Christian Awakening retreat for seniors. The Senior Retreat has been an integral part of the Trinity experience for tens of thousands of alumni since then.
“Senior Retreat was a life-changing and heart-altering experience,” Mike said. “It was the first time I ever truly felt loved and accepted. It’s been profound ever since.”
After graduating from Trinity in 1974, Mike attended Tulane University in New Orleans. Thanks to his Advanced College Credit from Trinity, he tested out of several prerequisite courses.
“I was in 400-level English courses as a freshman,” Mike said. “I loved school, and I was hoping to get a degree in social or educational psychology. But I felt like a fish out of water. Eighty-six percent of the kids at Tulane were from the Northeast.”
Mike transferred to the University of Kentucky where he earned a degree in landscape architecture. He also began volunteering for Trinity Senior Retreats, leading three or four retreats during his college years.
“I became experienced and in-tune with it,” Mike said. “At some point in the late 1980s or early ‘90s, Father Domhoff suggested I work all of the retreats. I’ve done more than 120 Senior Retreats over the years.”
In 1979, Mike accepted a job with design-build landscaper Boone Gardiner. Several years later, they were hired by developer NTS to design and build the landscaping for their office parks and subdivision entrances.
“I learned a lot,” Mike said. “That experience prepared me for later when I got into residential development.”
In 1984, Mike founded Mike Jones Nurseries, a design-build landscape contracting business in Crestwood. He had three tree farms and was the largest landscape contractor in Kentucky for three years.
Mike also got involved with the Trinity Alumni Association. He volunteered for the Benefit Dinner, which was eventually renamed CelebraTion. Under Mike’s guidance, the dinner grew in attendance and significance. His involvement deepened as he served three terms on the Trinity School Board. He and fellow board member Clair Patenaude H’07 were vital to the implementation of the school’s first-ever strategic plan with an emphasis on the creation of the master plan for the physical campus. Mike also served on the Trinity Foundation Board for more than 10 years.
Meanwhile, Mike developed his tree farm into a residential neighborhood. At about the same time, he started working part-time with Trinity’s Campus Ministry Department.
“I felt a calling and urgency to do that,” Mike said. “I sold my business and continued to develop a few neighborhoods at a time.”
Mike’s part-time position became full-time for six years. He oversaw days of recollection and the Christian Awakening senior retreat program, and implemented the “Summit,” a popular weekly Wednesday Bible study for students. Mike also taught junior theology with an emphasis on faith formation.
“It was important for me to be at Trinity,” Mike said. “I wanted to show seniors especially that they can live the ideals of Senior Retreat any day. I could meet kids for Bible study. I created Giving Tree and other service opportunities, as well as faith sharing through service work. Any excuse to talk about faith, I would take. I’d visit lunch periods, especially senior lunch. I’d ask how they’re doing and how they improved their relationship with God this week. You’d think it would challenge them to answer that, but they had an answer immediately.”
Mike left Trinity in 2007 and dove into the residential development industry as president of Canfield Development. He became the largest residential developer in the commonwealth just before the financial bust of 2008 and a colon cancer diagnosis.
Mike was with Canfield for 15 years. Meanwhile, he also returned to Trinity to assist with Senior Retreats. Additionally, Mike has served on fundraising committees for capital projects and is a donor.
“I give back to Trinity so that others can have the same chances and opportunities as me,” Mike said. “I do it primarily so the kids know that they are loved. You can’t get that Trinity ‘thing’ everywhere. It’s important to know that God loves you, and your family and friends love you.”
“Giving back to Trinity comes from a deep, abiding faith,” Mike continued. “I can’t imagine anything more important as a teenager than beginning your faith journey. I think we do that better than anybody.”
Mike has been honored by Trinity twice. In 1990, he received the Honor Alumnus Award. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2015.
During Mike’s Honor Alumnus Award acceptance speech, he referred to Trinity as “this place” for the first time.
“It’s not the buildings or bricks and mortar,” Mike said. “It’s the people.”
Mike and his wife, Suzie, have been married for 45 years. They have two children, Gran (Trinity, 2002) and Clark (Trinity, 2005), and two grandchildren, Rex, 10, and Molly, 8.
Share an alumni story!
Do you know a Trinity alumnus with a compelling story? Please reach out to Travis Wagoner '90, Alumni Relations & Communications Director, at 502-736-2122 or wagoner@trinityrocks.com.
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