Block, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, move, protect, rollback
57,799
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=Delwin Leoland Jones |image = |imagesize = |caption= |nationality=American |party=Democrat-turned-Repub..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Delwin Leoland Jones
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption=
|nationality=[[United States|American]]
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|office=Texas State Representative from [[Lubbock]]
|term_start=1964
|term_end=1972
|preceded=J. Collier Adams
|succeeded=Pete Laney
|office2=Texas State Representative for<br> District 83 (Cochran, Gaines, Hockley, Lubbock, and Yoakum counties)
|term_start2=1989
|term_end2=2011
|preceded2=Ron Givens
|succeeded2=Charles Lee Perry
|birth_place=Lubbock, Texas
|birth_date=April 2, 1924
|death_date=July 25, 2018 (aged 94)
|death_place=Lubbock, Texas
|resting_place=Texas State Cemetery in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]]
|occupation=[[Business]]man<br>
[[Farming|Farmer]]<br>
[[United States Army]] Air Corps in [[World War II]]
|religion=[[United Methodist]]
|spouse=Reta A. Womack Jones (married 1946-2014, her death)
|children=Lanny Tyler Jones<br>
Melodie Jones Snodgrass<br>
Two grandsons
|alma_mater=[[Texas Tech University]]
}}
'''Delwin Leoland Jones''' (April 2, 1924<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/delwin-jones/delwinleolandjones|title=Delwin Jones|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
– July 25, 2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texastribune.org/directory/districts/tx-house/83/|title=Texas House District 83: Dewlwin Jones, R-Lubbock|publisher=texastribune.org|accessdate=March 3, 2010}}</ref> was an [[United States|American]] politician, who, prior to 2011, was the oldest sitting member of the Texas House of Representatives,<ref name=lmt>"Solons feeling the heat", ''Laredo Morning Times'', April 12, 2010, p. 6A.</ref> having represented what became and what remains District 83 based in the area about his native [[Lubbock]]. Jones was originally elected as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] in 1964, when that party held 149 of the 150 seats in the Texas House. Jones was defeated for re-nomination in 1972 by [[cotton]] farmer Pete Laney of Hale Center, later the state House Speaker. Jones returned to the House in 1989 as a [[Republican Party|Republican]].
==Background==
A Lubbock resident, Jones was a son of R. E. Jones, Sr., and the former Cordelia Booth. He graduated from Lubbock High School and in 1949 [[Texas Tech University]], from which he held a Bachelor of Business Adinistratio degree.<ref name=obit/> He earned his living from [[farming]] and investments. After completing service in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps in [[World War II]], Jones wed the former Reta A. Womack (July 16, 1923 – March 20, 2014).<ref name=specialelection/> The two met in Lubbock's only bowling alley at the time. Mrs. Jones was heavily committed to [[Habitat for Humanity]] in Lubbock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2014-03-22/reta-jones-wife-former-tex-rep-delwin-remembered-kindness-habitat-work#.VASQe_ldWS8|title=Reta Jones, wife of former Tex Rep. Delwin, remembered for kindness, Habitat work: Donations to Habitat for Humanity are requested in lieu of flowers|date=March 22, 2014|author=R. S. Douglas|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|accessdate=September 1, 2014}}</ref>
The Joneses had two children, Lanny Tyler Jones of Seal Beach, [[Californa]], and Melodie Jones Snodgrass and husband, Harry, of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]].<ref name=obit/>
==Political life==
Jones's District 83 also included the outlying communities of Levelland, Denver City, Plains, Shallowater, Slaton, and Seminole. Jones drove through the district over the years with a 1995 [[Buick]] Le Sabre, passing out probably 800,000 "Delwin Jones" emery boards to remind voters of pending elections. He started each day politicking in some café, often in [[rural]] areas.<ref name=lmt/>
At the age of eighty-six, Jones was a candidate for renomination in the April 13, 2010, Republican runoff [[primary]]. He was unseated by Charles Lee Perry, an [[Accounting|accountant]] who ran a grass roots campaign with support of the [[Tea Party movement]]. Perry prevailed, 10,109 votes (57.8 percent) to Jones' 7,392 ballots (42.2 percent). Jones polled 291 more votes in the runoff than he had in the primary, but Perry's total increased by 3,633 ballots over his initial showing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist150_state.htm|title=Texas Republican runoff primary returns|date=April 13, 2010|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=July 25, 2010}}</ref>
In the March 2 primary, Jones, backed by the president of the Lubbock Educators Association [[interest group]],<ref name=laj>"Election 2010", ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'', accessed March 6, 2010.</ref>
led the field with 7,103 ballots (37.7 percent) to Perry's 6,476 (34.4 percent). The third candidate, Zach Brady, with 5,240 votes (27.8 percent), held the key to victory in the Jones-Perry showdown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist148_state.htm|title=Texas Republican primary election returns|date=March 2, 2010|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=July 25, 2018}}</ref> Brady, a Lubbock [[lawyer|attorney]], raised more than $250,000 and carried the backing of business [[interest group]]s, but he was eliminated from the race by his third-place showing.<ref name=laj/>
Jones had expected to win another term in the legislature on the basis of name identification and longevity, but he conceded an "undercurrent" of disgruntled taxpayers made the outcome of the race uncertain.<ref name=lmt/> Charles Perry then ran unopposed for the House seat in the [[general election]] held on November 2, 2010, as no Democrat filed for the position.
In the Republican primary held on May 29, 2012, Jones, at the age of eighty-eight, failed in a bid to unseat Perry's successful bid for a second term n the House. In 2014, Jones entered the special election to fill the District 28 seat in the Texas State Senate vacated by [[Moderate Republican]] Robert Lloyd Duncan, who became chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. In this race, he again faced Charles Perry as well as several other candidates, including two other Republicans, E. M. Garza and later [[U.S. Representative]] [[Jodey Arrington]] of Texas's 19th congressional district, and a Democrat, Greg Wortham. On August 31, 2014, Jones was listed in critical condition from an undisclosed illness and was admitted to Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock.<ref name=specialelection>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/election/2014-08-31/sd-28-candidate-delwin-jones-critical-condition#.VASJnvldWS8|title=SD 28 candidate Delwin Jones in critical condition: Jones served for 30 years in the Texas House of Representatives during two stints|date=August 31, 2014|author=Sarah Rafique|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|accessdate=September 1, 2014}}</ref> Perry won the election without the need for a [[runoff election|runoff]] and thereby gained seniority over other new state senators who elected on November 4. Jones , meanwhile, survived his illness.
In his lengthy career, Jones wrote the legislation that created the Buffalo Lakes Water District, the University Medical Center (a teaching hospital), the Texas Tech Medical School, the Criminal District Attorney's Office for Lubbock County, the 137th District Court in Lubbock County, and the Seed Breeders Rights legislation that gave [[patent]]-type protection for seed developers. He authored the legislation that sets the legal standards for [[egg]]s and fruit sold in the state. He sponsored the law which requires that garbage be sterilized or heat-treated before it is fed to farm animals. He authored a state constitutional amendment to prevent excess tax increases on agricultural land. He was the author of the Texas Disabilities Act that requires all public buildings in Texas be accessible for the physically handicapped. He was designated "Farmer of the Year in Texas". He authored the bill that changed the name of Texas Technological College to Texas Tech University, effective September 1969.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lubbockonline/obituary.aspx?n=delwin-l-jones&pid=189715303|title=Delwin L. Jones obituary|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche Journal''|date=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
In 2015, Jones received the George Mahon Award, named for Democratic former U.S. Representative George Mahon, from the Lubbock Professional Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications.<ref name=deathofjones>{{cite web|url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20180725/longtime-texas-legislator-delwin-jones-of-lubbock-dies-at-94|title=Longtime Texas legislator Delwin Jones of Lubbock dies at 94|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=July 25, 2018}}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
Jones died in Lubbock at the age of ninety-four. After a memorial service at theh Oakwood [[United Methodist]]Church at 2215 58th Street in Lubbock, he will be interred at the Texas State Cemetery in the capital city of [[Austin, Texas|Austin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?pers_id=12001|title=Delwin L. Jones|publisher=cemetery.state.tx.us|accessdate=January 5, 2016}}</ref> Former state Senator Robert Duncan described Jones as "always involved in different types of activities, as a volunteer at the Lions Club, and ... active in the Republican Party, helping the new candidates learn the ropes and understand how to get elected.”<ref name=deathofjones/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Delwn}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:United Methodist]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II]]
| name=Delwin Leoland Jones
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption=
|nationality=[[United States|American]]
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|office=Texas State Representative from [[Lubbock]]
|term_start=1964
|term_end=1972
|preceded=J. Collier Adams
|succeeded=Pete Laney
|office2=Texas State Representative for<br> District 83 (Cochran, Gaines, Hockley, Lubbock, and Yoakum counties)
|term_start2=1989
|term_end2=2011
|preceded2=Ron Givens
|succeeded2=Charles Lee Perry
|birth_place=Lubbock, Texas
|birth_date=April 2, 1924
|death_date=July 25, 2018 (aged 94)
|death_place=Lubbock, Texas
|resting_place=Texas State Cemetery in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]]
|occupation=[[Business]]man<br>
[[Farming|Farmer]]<br>
[[United States Army]] Air Corps in [[World War II]]
|religion=[[United Methodist]]
|spouse=Reta A. Womack Jones (married 1946-2014, her death)
|children=Lanny Tyler Jones<br>
Melodie Jones Snodgrass<br>
Two grandsons
|alma_mater=[[Texas Tech University]]
}}
'''Delwin Leoland Jones''' (April 2, 1924<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/delwin-jones/delwinleolandjones|title=Delwin Jones|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
– July 25, 2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texastribune.org/directory/districts/tx-house/83/|title=Texas House District 83: Dewlwin Jones, R-Lubbock|publisher=texastribune.org|accessdate=March 3, 2010}}</ref> was an [[United States|American]] politician, who, prior to 2011, was the oldest sitting member of the Texas House of Representatives,<ref name=lmt>"Solons feeling the heat", ''Laredo Morning Times'', April 12, 2010, p. 6A.</ref> having represented what became and what remains District 83 based in the area about his native [[Lubbock]]. Jones was originally elected as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] in 1964, when that party held 149 of the 150 seats in the Texas House. Jones was defeated for re-nomination in 1972 by [[cotton]] farmer Pete Laney of Hale Center, later the state House Speaker. Jones returned to the House in 1989 as a [[Republican Party|Republican]].
==Background==
A Lubbock resident, Jones was a son of R. E. Jones, Sr., and the former Cordelia Booth. He graduated from Lubbock High School and in 1949 [[Texas Tech University]], from which he held a Bachelor of Business Adinistratio degree.<ref name=obit/> He earned his living from [[farming]] and investments. After completing service in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps in [[World War II]], Jones wed the former Reta A. Womack (July 16, 1923 – March 20, 2014).<ref name=specialelection/> The two met in Lubbock's only bowling alley at the time. Mrs. Jones was heavily committed to [[Habitat for Humanity]] in Lubbock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2014-03-22/reta-jones-wife-former-tex-rep-delwin-remembered-kindness-habitat-work#.VASQe_ldWS8|title=Reta Jones, wife of former Tex Rep. Delwin, remembered for kindness, Habitat work: Donations to Habitat for Humanity are requested in lieu of flowers|date=March 22, 2014|author=R. S. Douglas|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|accessdate=September 1, 2014}}</ref>
The Joneses had two children, Lanny Tyler Jones of Seal Beach, [[Californa]], and Melodie Jones Snodgrass and husband, Harry, of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]].<ref name=obit/>
==Political life==
Jones's District 83 also included the outlying communities of Levelland, Denver City, Plains, Shallowater, Slaton, and Seminole. Jones drove through the district over the years with a 1995 [[Buick]] Le Sabre, passing out probably 800,000 "Delwin Jones" emery boards to remind voters of pending elections. He started each day politicking in some café, often in [[rural]] areas.<ref name=lmt/>
At the age of eighty-six, Jones was a candidate for renomination in the April 13, 2010, Republican runoff [[primary]]. He was unseated by Charles Lee Perry, an [[Accounting|accountant]] who ran a grass roots campaign with support of the [[Tea Party movement]]. Perry prevailed, 10,109 votes (57.8 percent) to Jones' 7,392 ballots (42.2 percent). Jones polled 291 more votes in the runoff than he had in the primary, but Perry's total increased by 3,633 ballots over his initial showing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist150_state.htm|title=Texas Republican runoff primary returns|date=April 13, 2010|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=July 25, 2010}}</ref>
In the March 2 primary, Jones, backed by the president of the Lubbock Educators Association [[interest group]],<ref name=laj>"Election 2010", ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'', accessed March 6, 2010.</ref>
led the field with 7,103 ballots (37.7 percent) to Perry's 6,476 (34.4 percent). The third candidate, Zach Brady, with 5,240 votes (27.8 percent), held the key to victory in the Jones-Perry showdown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist148_state.htm|title=Texas Republican primary election returns|date=March 2, 2010|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=July 25, 2018}}</ref> Brady, a Lubbock [[lawyer|attorney]], raised more than $250,000 and carried the backing of business [[interest group]]s, but he was eliminated from the race by his third-place showing.<ref name=laj/>
Jones had expected to win another term in the legislature on the basis of name identification and longevity, but he conceded an "undercurrent" of disgruntled taxpayers made the outcome of the race uncertain.<ref name=lmt/> Charles Perry then ran unopposed for the House seat in the [[general election]] held on November 2, 2010, as no Democrat filed for the position.
In the Republican primary held on May 29, 2012, Jones, at the age of eighty-eight, failed in a bid to unseat Perry's successful bid for a second term n the House. In 2014, Jones entered the special election to fill the District 28 seat in the Texas State Senate vacated by [[Moderate Republican]] Robert Lloyd Duncan, who became chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. In this race, he again faced Charles Perry as well as several other candidates, including two other Republicans, E. M. Garza and later [[U.S. Representative]] [[Jodey Arrington]] of Texas's 19th congressional district, and a Democrat, Greg Wortham. On August 31, 2014, Jones was listed in critical condition from an undisclosed illness and was admitted to Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock.<ref name=specialelection>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/election/2014-08-31/sd-28-candidate-delwin-jones-critical-condition#.VASJnvldWS8|title=SD 28 candidate Delwin Jones in critical condition: Jones served for 30 years in the Texas House of Representatives during two stints|date=August 31, 2014|author=Sarah Rafique|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|accessdate=September 1, 2014}}</ref> Perry won the election without the need for a [[runoff election|runoff]] and thereby gained seniority over other new state senators who elected on November 4. Jones , meanwhile, survived his illness.
In his lengthy career, Jones wrote the legislation that created the Buffalo Lakes Water District, the University Medical Center (a teaching hospital), the Texas Tech Medical School, the Criminal District Attorney's Office for Lubbock County, the 137th District Court in Lubbock County, and the Seed Breeders Rights legislation that gave [[patent]]-type protection for seed developers. He authored the legislation that sets the legal standards for [[egg]]s and fruit sold in the state. He sponsored the law which requires that garbage be sterilized or heat-treated before it is fed to farm animals. He authored a state constitutional amendment to prevent excess tax increases on agricultural land. He was the author of the Texas Disabilities Act that requires all public buildings in Texas be accessible for the physically handicapped. He was designated "Farmer of the Year in Texas". He authored the bill that changed the name of Texas Technological College to Texas Tech University, effective September 1969.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lubbockonline/obituary.aspx?n=delwin-l-jones&pid=189715303|title=Delwin L. Jones obituary|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche Journal''|date=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
In 2015, Jones received the George Mahon Award, named for Democratic former U.S. Representative George Mahon, from the Lubbock Professional Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications.<ref name=deathofjones>{{cite web|url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20180725/longtime-texas-legislator-delwin-jones-of-lubbock-dies-at-94|title=Longtime Texas legislator Delwin Jones of Lubbock dies at 94|publisher=''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=July 25, 2018}}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
Jones died in Lubbock at the age of ninety-four. After a memorial service at theh Oakwood [[United Methodist]]Church at 2215 58th Street in Lubbock, he will be interred at the Texas State Cemetery in the capital city of [[Austin, Texas|Austin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?pers_id=12001|title=Delwin L. Jones|publisher=cemetery.state.tx.us|accessdate=January 5, 2016}}</ref> Former state Senator Robert Duncan described Jones as "always involved in different types of activities, as a volunteer at the Lions Club, and ... active in the Republican Party, helping the new candidates learn the ropes and understand how to get elected.”<ref name=deathofjones/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Delwn}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:United Methodist]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II]]