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{{Infobox officeholder

{{Infobox officeholder

|name=James Lee "Jim" Sheets

|name=James Lee "Jim" Sheets

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]

|office=[[Arkansas]] State Representative<br>for Benton County

|office=[[Arkansas]] State Representative<br>for Benton County

|alma_mater=John Brown University

|alma_mater=John Brown University

|occupation=Educator-turned-[[business]]man; retired in Bella Vista

|occupation=Educator-turned-[[business]]man; retired in Bella Vista

}}

}}

'''James Lee Sheets''', known as '''Jim Sheets''' (March 29, 1931 &ndash; March 1, 2020, was a [[business]]man from Bella Vista, [[Arkansas]], who is a [[Republican Party|Republican]] former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. From 1967 to 1968, he represented Benton County for a single term.  

'''James Lee Sheets''', known as '''Jim Sheets''' (March 29, 1931 &ndash; March 1, 2020, was a [[business]]man from Bella Vista, [[Arkansas]], who is a [[Republican Party|Republican]] former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives. From 1967 to 1968, he represented Benton County for a single term.  

He is the first member of his party in the 20th century to have been sent to the legislature from Benton County, located in the far northwestern portion of the state. In time, Benton County became the GOP's banner county in Arkansas.<ref>Benton County, Arkansas, is not traditionally Republican; prior to 1950, the GOP for decades had controlled at the local level neighboring Searcy and Newton counties in northwestern Arkansas. Newton County, however, voted in 1964 for Orval Faubus over Winthrop Rockefeller.</ref> Sheets did not seek reelection because of the time required away from his employment as public relations director of his alma mater, the Christian-affiliated John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.<ref name=statement>Statement of James Lee Sheets, Bella Vista, Arkansas, June 2009, based on interview with Billy Hathorn, the author of the article.</ref>  

He was the first member of his party in the 20th century to have been sent to the legislature from Benton County, located in the far northwestern portion of the state. In time, Benton County became the GOP's banner county in Arkansas.<ref>Benton County, Arkansas, is not traditionally Republican; prior to 1950, the GOP for decades had controlled at the local level neighboring Searcy and Newton counties in northwestern Arkansas. Newton County, however, voted in 1964 for Orval Faubus over Winthrop Rockefeller.</ref> Sheets did not seek reelection because of the time required away from his employment as public relations director of his alma mater, the Christian-affiliated John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.<ref name=statement>Statement of James Lee Sheets, Bella Vista, Arkansas, June 2009, based on interview with Billy Hathorn, the author of the article.</ref>  

   

   

==Background==

==Background==

Sheets was born in Arkansas City in Cowley County in southeastern [[Kansas]], to June P. Sheets (1903-1982), originally from Fargo in Ellis County in northwestern [[Oklahoma]], and the former Mae Robinson (1904-2002), a native of Pierce City in Lawrence County in southwestern [[Missouri]]. June Sheets was employed in Arkansas City as an agent for the former Frisco Railroad, but he was transferred as a dispatcher in 1943 to Enid in northern Oklahoma. Therefore, Jim Sheets graduated in 1949 from Enid High School.<ref name=statement/><ref>Jim Sheets had a sister, Jenta D. Strombeck (1928-2007), a missionary who spent her last years in Tahlequah in Cherokee County in eastern Oklahoma.</ref>

Sheets was born in Arkansas City in Cowley County in southeastern [[Kansas]], to June P. Sheets (1903-1982), originally from Fargo in Ellis County in northwestern [[Oklahoma]], and the former Mae Robinson (1904-2002), a native of Pierce City in Lawrence County in southwestern [[Missouri]]. June Sheets was employed in Arkansas City as an agent for the former Frisco Railroad, but he was transferred as a dispatcher in 1943 to Enid in northern Oklahoma. Therefore, Jim Sheets graduated in 1949 from Enid High School.<ref name=statement/><ref>Jim Sheets had a sister, Jenta D. Strombeck (1928-2007), a missionary who spent her last years in Tahlequah in Cherokee County in eastern Oklahoma.</ref>

After having received his [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in Bible and English in 1953, Sheets immediately joined the John Brown University staff as manager of the campus radio station. While attending JBU, he had met his future wife, the former Martha Hamlin, a native of Disney in Mayes County in northeastern Oklahoma. The couple married in 1954 and adopted four children.<ref>The Sheets children are Kimberly Norton (born 1958) of Laurinburg, the seat of Scotland County in southern [[North Carolina]]; Mark R. Sheets (born 1961) of Rogers in Benton County, Arkansas; Kevin James Sheets (born 1981) of Bella Vista, and Aaron Sheets (born 1983) of Fayetteville, Arkansas.</ref>

After having received his Bachelor of Arts degree in [[Bible]] and [[English]] in 1953, Sheets immediately joined the John Brown University staff as manager of the campus [[radio]] station. While attending JBU, he had met his future wife, the former Martha Hamlin, a native of Disney in Mayes County in northeastern Oklahoma. The couple married in 1954 and adopted four children.<ref>The Sheets children are Kimberly Norton (born 1958) of Laurinburg, the seat of Scotland County in southern [[North Carolina]]; Mark R. Sheets (born 1961) of Rogers in Benton County, Arkansas; Kevin James Sheets (born 1981) of Bella Vista, and Aaron Sheets (born 1983) of Fayetteville, Arkansas.</ref>

From 1955 to 1958, Sheets served in the [[United States Army]], partly under a secret [[Atomic Energy Commission]] clearance at the Oakland Naval Supply Station in [[Oakland]], [[California]]. After his military duties, Sheets hence returned to JBU in 1958 as director of public relations and student recruitment, a position that he maintained until 1969.<ref name=statement/>

From 1955 to 1958, Sheets served in the [[United States Army]], partly under a secret [[Atomic Energy Commission]] clearance at the Oakland Naval Supply Station in [[Oakland]], [[California]]. After his military duties, Sheets hence returned to JBU in 1958 as director of public relations and student recruitment, a position that he maintained until 1969.<ref name=statement/>

===Relationship with Rockefeller===

===Relationship with Rockefeller===

Sheets met [[Winthrop Rockefeller]] (1912-1973) for the first time when both were seeking office in 1966, he for the state House and Rockefeller as the first of the post-Faubus era governors and the first Republican in the position since [[Reconstruction]]. Sheets recalls having excellent personal relations with Rockefeller though, like colleague [[George E. Nowotny, Jr.]], of Fort Smith, he disagreed with Rockefeller on certain issues. In the 1967 legislative session, Sheets introduced a revised death penalty bill, but Rockefeller opposed [[capital punishment]], a position at odds with most Arkansans in both parties. According to Sheets, Rockefeller told him that their disagreement on the death penalty would not affect their personal and political association. Sheets said that he was contacted at the time by [[J. Edgar Hoover]], director of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], who presented "talking points," a term not yet coined, that the death penalty is a deterrent to murder because it causes some miscreants to think twice about the taking of life if they know that their own existence would be jeopardized.<ref name=statement/>

Sheets met [[Winthrop Rockefeller]] for the first time when both were seeking office in 1966, he for the state House and Rockefeller as the first of the post-Faubus era governors and the first Republican in the position since [[Reconstruction]]. Sheets recalls having excellent personal relations with Rockefeller though, like colleague [[George E. Nowotny, Jr.]], of Fort Smith, he disagreed with Rockefeller on certain issues. In the 1967 legislative session, Sheets introduced a revised death penalty bill, but Rockefeller opposed [[capital punishment]], a position at odds with most Arkansans in both parties. According to Sheets, Rockefeller told him that their disagreement on the death penalty would not affect their personal and political association. Sheets said that he was contacted at the time by [[J. Edgar Hoover]], director of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], who presented "talking points," a term not yet coined, that the death penalty is a deterrent to murder because it causes some miscreants to think twice about the taking of life if they know that their own existence would be jeopardized.<ref name=statement/>

Unlike Nowotny, who considered Rockefeller's drinking to have been serious in his later years, Sheets said that it appeared to him that Rockefeller could handle liquor in most situations. In 1973, Sheets was among the mourners at Winthrop Rockefeller's funeral on Petit Jean Mountain,<ref name=statement/> where he met [[Nelson Rockefeller]], headed the following year to a short tenure as [[Vice President of the United States]].

Unlike Nowotny, who considered Rockefeller's drinking to have been serious in his later years, Sheets said that it appeared to him that Rockefeller could handle liquor in most situations. In 1973, Sheets was among the mourners at Winthrop Rockefeller's funeral on Petit Jean Mountain,<ref name=statement/> where he met [[Nelson Rockefeller]], headed the following year to a short tenure as [[Vice President of the United States|U. S. Vice President]].

===Challenging Kelly Bryant===

===Challenging Kelly Bryant===