Sinclair Bert Kouns, Sr.
| Sinclair Bert Kouns, Sr. (Shreveport businessman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | December 25, 1926 Shreveport, Louisiana, USA | ||
| Died | November 17, 2000 (aged 73) Shreveport, Louisiana Resting place: | ||
| Political Party | Democrat | ||
| Spouse | Jeri LaneThompson Kouns (married 1954-2000, his death) Children: | ||
| Religion | United Methodist | ||
| Military Service | |||
| Service/branch | United States Army | ||
| Battles/wars | World War II | ||
Sinclair Bert Kouns, Sr. (December 25, 1926 – November 17, 2000), was a businessman and local politician in his native Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the one-time president of the former Caddo Parish Police Jury, renamed in 1984 as the Caddo Parish Commission. He worked to establish the Port of Caddo-Bossier.
Kouns was descended from Bert Kouns (1893-1970), a petroleum and natural gas entrepreneur. originally from Alexandria, Louisiana.[1] Bert Kouns, the namesake of the Bert Kouns Industrial Loop in south Shreveport, was descended from a pioneer family involved in commerce on the Red River. His paternal grandfather, Captain Martin H. Kouns (1842-1903), born in Lawrence, Ohio, was the owner of a steamboat company active on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Red rivers. Martin Kouns settled in his later years in rural Grand Ecore in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.[2]
Sinclair Kouns attended Georgia Military Academy in Milledgeville, Georgia, and graduated from the public Clifton Ellis Byrd High School in Shreveport and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, at which he lettered in baseball. He served in the United States Army in World War II. He was a past president of the Shreveport Sports Foundation and the Holiday in Dixie observance in April. In the middle 1970s, he served on the United States Bicentennial Planning Commission.[3]
His friend, Virginia Shehee, a one-term state senator for Caddo Parish from 1976 to 1980, described Kouns as "a community leader involved in many civic organizations which benefited the entire area. He was also a leader in his profession in the insurance industry. He will be greatly missed." The Reverend E. Edward Jones, Sr., the former pastor of the Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport served with Kouns on the police jury in the early 1970s. Jones said that he "thought that Sinclair made an excellent leader." Jones was one of the first African-Americans elected to the body after the United States District Court in Shreveport ordered reapportionment of the police jury. Jones recalled how Kouns reached out to the minority members. "It was a tumultuous time for us. Even to carry on a decent conversation was a step in the right direction."[3]
Kouns was married to the former Jeri Lane Thompson (1931-2021), a native of rural Cotton Valley in Webster Parish, the daughter of Virgil Vivian Thompson and the former Jennie Mae Logan (1911-2008). She was a graduate of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. and a real estate broker in Shreveport.[4] The couple had three daughters and a son, Lauren Elizabeth Kouns (1959-1983). Leigh Kouns Hunter of Dallas, Texas, Merrill Kouns Berry of Shreveport, and Sinclair Kouns, Jr., and his wife, Candace, of Baton Rouge. The Kounses were United Methodists; they are interred at Forest Park East Cemetery in Shreveport.[5]
Kouns has a namesake grandson, Sinclair Kouns, III, of Baton Rouge.
References
- ↑ Bert Kouns (1893-1970) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed May 11, 2021.
- ↑ CPT Martin H. Kouns (1842-1903) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed May 11, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sinclair Bert Kouns (1926-2000) - Find A Grave Memorial, author John Andrew Prime; accessed May 10, 2021.
- ↑ Jeri Kouns (Thompson), 89 - Shreveport, LA Background Report at MyLife.com™, accessed May 11, 2021.
- ↑ Jeri Lane Thompson Kouns (1931-2021) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed May 10, 2021.
