Loyal Jones (January 5, 1928 – October 7, 2023) was an American folklorist, Appalachian culture scholar, and writer.
[1][2] Loyal Jones was born in Marble, North Carolina, on January 5, 1928,[3] one of eight siblings in a farming family.
[4] At the age of 12, his family moved to Brasstown, North Carolina, in proximity to the John C. Campbell Folk School established in 1925.
[4] Before joining Berea College as a faculty member, he taught in the U.S. Army and at Jefferson County Public Schools.
[4] Jones began working at the Council of the Southern Mountains in 1958 and served as the organization's executive director from 1967 until 1970.