A new Patriotic 4th Degree Assembly formed East of Dallas

Early May of 2018 was normal, except there were Sir Knights who had not been active for many years in the 4^th degree were concerned about the assembly being far away. They were active in their respective councils, but there seemed to be a void and lack of connection with the 4^th degree, and they wanted to do more for their Parishes through the 4th. Then one day a question was raised to District Deputy Robert Repka; was it possible to create an Assembly in our area. A call was made to the Master of the 3^rd Texas District, SK Pat Conway, PFN, FDD, who was for such a move; as a result, the process began.

A few days later I received a call from the Master and was told that he wanted me to be the Charter Faithful Navigator and to begin forming the new assembly. I was astounded and not prepared for what he had asked. When he said we needed 35 current members of the 4^th degree to commit to transferring to the new assembly and I was not sure if we could get that done. However, after beginning to contact all current members in the area and receiving very positive responses form everyone; the challenge turned into, when can we complete everything. In fact, after a couple of weeks the goal was attained.

The new assembly was to be comprised of four local councils currently associated with three existing assemblies; Council 13133 at St Martin of Tours, Forney, Tx, Council 11721 at St Ann’s in Kaufman, Tx, Council 13158 at Devine Mercy, Mesquite, Tx and Council 6778 at St John the Apostle in Terrell, Tx. The initial group of SK’s committing to be members of the new assembly were members of the four parish councils, and when everything was done we had a total of 39 SK’s who wanted to transfer and become members. In addition, during this process we talked with a number of 3^rd degree knights while visiting the council meetings. These Knights indicated a desire to become 4^th degree knights the new assembly. In total, when the application to Supreme was completed and presented to the Vice Supreme Master of the Guadalupe Province, , we had 39 existing 4^th degree SK’s and 12 3^rd degree Knights who wanted to become the newest members of the new Assembly. In total we would begin the new Assembly with 51 total members. On September 6 at the Exemplification Banquet the Master of the 3^rd Texas District presented to the VSM the Charter application and all documents that would be forwarded to Supreme Headquarters in New Hartford. On October 15 we received word that the New Assemblies application had been approved; we were now the (SK Silas ‘Si” Jones, Jr. Assembly, 3786. The newest Assembly in the K of C.

Our namesake was a remarkable man and what many consider the ‘Ideal Knight’. The was born in Oklahoma and lived in Durant where he enlisted in the National Guard in 1935 at age 16, called to Active duty in 1940 and was Commissioned 2^nd Lt. at Ft Benning, Ga. 1042. He was sent to Europe and served as company commander in the 52^nd Armored Inf with the 9^th Inf. Div. in WWII. He was captured in 1944 at the Battle of the Bulge.

SK Si joined the Knights of Columbus in May of 1964, Exemplified in 1968 and joined the Color Corps in April of 1969. He was a member of Council 799 in Dallas and a member of the Father Abram J Ryan Assembly until his death in 2011.

SK Si Jones was an exemplary Knight and Man, one to be looked up to. Also, what his Obituary didn’t say is; He escaped from the POW camp and later re-captured and then remained a prisoner until liberated at the end of the war and remained on active duty until his retirement in 1966; 31 years active duty. He was then ROTC liaison for the DISD until 1981 for a total of 46 years of service to his country. Si was a true Patriot the essence of what our Order stands for, “Patriotism”. But first, he was a Knight of Columbus who strived to be a great Husband, Father and Catholic. His love of Family, Church and duty to Country molded him into the ideal Knight of Columbus.

SK Si served in the Color Corps until 2009. He served as FN to the Fr. Abram J Ryan Assembly, served as Color Corps Commander and District Marshal of the 3^rd Texas District. He was voted to receive CCC Emeritus and District Marshal Emeritus designations. He participated in 2140 CC turnouts for his assembly plus District turn-outs where he averaged 25 to 30 turn outs a year that are not included in the 2140. We doubt these numbers will ever be duplicated. Many feel he was the ideal Sir Knight.

On Oct 30 we held our first open meeting as the “SK Silas ‘Si’ Jones, Jr. Assembly 3786” where we honored our newly exemplified SK’s and their wives and all our Sir Knights Ladies. At this meeting we had two very special guests and their families, Ms. Ava Jones Sundstrom and her family and Mr. Gary Jones and his family. They are the children of our namesake, SK Silas ‘Si’ Jones, Jr. And, at this open meeting, the new assembly was presented the PFN Sword of SK Jones by his Son and Daughter and their families. We were all deeply honored.

The new Assembly is off to a great start and we do have bright future with a great group of Charter Officers and Members, with Fr. Jet Garcia of St. Ann’s in Kaufman as our Faithful Friar to guide us.

Attached are two photos; one of our charter officers with the Master of the 3^rd Texas District and one of the Sword Presentation. (photos by Lady Sabrina Brancaccio)

Left to Right- Ms. Ava Jones Sunstrom, Mr. Gary Jones, 3^rd Tx Dist Master SK Pat Conway,

SK Tom Stocks, FN, SK Jack Haynes, Faithful Admiral.