Changes

==Background==

==Background==

A native of [[rural]] Greenwood in southwestern Caddo Parish,<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site23.php|title=Flournoy, J. Howell|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association:  ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=December 31, 2010}}</ref> Flournoy was the son of James Pattison "Pat" Flournoy, Sr., the Caddo Parish sheriff from 1906 to 1916, who had previously been the Shreveport municipal auditor, parish tax assessor, and coroner, at a time when medical examiners in Louisiana need not have been physicians.<ref name=cpso>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/caddo_sheriff_template_page_4.html|title=The Beginnings of the Modern Sheriff's Office|publisher=caddohistory.com|accessdate=December 31, 2010}}</ref> Flournoy was the paternal grandson of 19th century Sheriff Alonzo Flournoy.<ref name=history/>

A native of [[rural]] Greenwood in southwestern Caddo Parish,<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site23.php|title=Flournoy, J. Howell|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association:  ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=December 31, 2010}}</ref> Flournoy was the son of James Pattison "Pat" Flournoy Sr., the Caddo Parish sheriff from 1906 to 1916, who had previously been the Shreveport municipal auditor, parish tax assessor, and coroner, at a time when medical examiners in Louisiana need not have been physicians.<ref name=cpso>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/caddo_sheriff_template_page_4.html|title=The Beginnings of the Modern Sheriff's Office|publisher=caddohistory.com|accessdate=December 31, 2010}}</ref> Flournoy was the paternal grandson of 19th century Sheriff Alonzo Flournoy.<ref name=history/>

Flournoy was educated in Shreveport public schools and thereafter attended an unnamed business college. A Louisiana National Guardsman, he was a [[United States Army]] veteran of [[World War I]], with assignment on the [[Mexico|Mexican]] border.  He was also as an instructor in a machine gun school at Camp Hancock, [[Georgia]], and was commissioned a lieutenant.<ref name=sjobit>"Sheriff 26 Years – J. H. Flournoy Dies," ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', December 14, 1966, p. 1.</ref>

Flournoy was educated in Shreveport public schools and thereafter attended an unnamed business college. A Louisiana National Guardsman, he was a [[United States Army]] veteran of [[World War I]], with assignment on the [[Mexico|Mexican]] border.  He was also as an instructor in a machine gun school at Camp Hancock, [[Georgia]], and was commissioned a lieutenant.<ref name=sjobit>"Sheriff 26 Years – J. H. Flournoy Dies," ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', December 14, 1966, p. 1.</ref>

==Public career==

==Public career==

At seventeen, Flournoy became a deputy in the Caddo Parish sheriff's department, a position that he held from 1913 to 1928. He was hence a deputy under his father from 1913 to 1916, as were two of his brothers, James Flournoy, Jr., and George A. Flournoy.<ref name=cpso/> From 1928 to 1940, J. Howell Flournoy was a deputy Caddo Parish tax collector. In 1940, Flournoy was elected sheriff to succeed Thomas Roland Hughes (1878-1965) in the same political cycle which brought to the [[governor|governorship]] [[Sam Houston Jones]] of [[Lake Charles]], who unseated Governor [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]. Hughes, known for his arrest of the controversial blues musician Lead Belly (1888-1949), had succeeded J. Pat Flournoy as sheriff in 1916. As sheriff, J. Howell Flournoy in 1940 organized the Caddo Parish Selective Service Board and trained an internal security group in Shreveport during [[World War II]]. He spearheaded a measure to establish a pension and relief fund for sheriff's department employees.<ref name=sjobit/> From 1950 until his death, except for one year, Flournoy headed the Louisiana Sheriff's Pension and Relief Fund.<ref name=lahist/>

At seventeen, Flournoy became a deputy in the Caddo Parish sheriff's department, a position that he held from 1913 to 1928. He was hence a deputy under his father from 1913 to 1916, as were two of his brothers, James Flournoy Jr., and George A. Flournoy.<ref name=cpso/> From 1928 to 1940, J. Howell Flournoy was a deputy Caddo Parish tax collector. In 1940, Flournoy was elected sheriff to succeed Thomas Roland Hughes (1878–1965) in the same political cycle which brought to the [[governor]]ship [[Sam Houston Jones]] of [[Lake Charles]], who unseated Governor [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]. Hughes, known for his arrest of the controversial blues musician Lead Belly (1888–1949), had succeeded J. Pat Flournoy as sheriff in 1916. As sheriff, J. Howell Flournoy in 1940 organized the Caddo Parish Selective Service Board and trained an internal security group in Shreveport during [[World War II]]. He spearheaded a measure to establish a pension and relief fund for sheriff's department employees.<ref name=sjobit/> From 1950 until his death, except for one year, Flournoy headed the Louisiana Sheriff's Pension and Relief Fund.<ref name=lahist/>

Flournoy often received commendations for his work in law enforcement from [[J. Edgar Hoover]], director of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]. The defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'' afternoon newspaper referred to Flournoy, accordingly, "A well-known [[conservative]] and a spokesman for patriotism, Sheriff Flournoy spent his entire adult life striving to improve his department in all fields of duty and speaking out against anything or any group which he felt posed a threat to Americanism. The sheriff and his department, ranked among the best and were often copied by other similar law agencies ... he was also recognized for his well-known work with youth, including his Junior Rifle Program, nationally acclaimed.<ref name=sjobit/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jeffersonian.name/g1962/G0962.pdf|title=Junior Rifle Clubs – Action, not Words|publisher=''Guns'' ([[magazine]])|date=September 1962|author=Robert Dyment|pages=31, 48|accessdate=September 26, 2014}}</ref>

Flournoy often received commendations for his work in law enforcement from [[J. Edgar Hoover]], director of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]. The defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'' afternoon newspaper referred to Flournoy, accordingly, "A well-known [[conservative]] and a spokesman for patriotism, Sheriff Flournoy spent his entire adult life striving to improve his department in all fields of duty and speaking out against anything or any group which he felt posed a threat to Americanism. The sheriff and his department, ranked among the best and were often copied by other similar law agencies ... he was also recognized for his well-known work with youth, including his Junior Rifle Program, nationally acclaimed.<ref name=sjobit/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jeffersonian.name/g1962/G0962.pdf|title=Junior Rifle Clubs – Action, not Words|publisher=''Guns'' ([[magazine]])|date=September 1962|author=Robert Dyment|pages=31, 48|accessdate=September 26, 2014}}</ref>

Flournoy was originally a [[segregation]]ist though he later hired the first [[African-American]] deputies in Caddo Parish. When state Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish, an unsuccessful segregationist gubernatorial contender in 1959, telephoned Flournoy to inform him that one of the African-American deputies had spoken in support of racial integration, Flournoy dismissed the deputy.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QnQbw5EyPREC&pg=PA210&lpg=PA210 |author=Adam Fairclough|title= Race and Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915–1972|location=Athens, [[Georgia]]|publisher=[[University of Georgia]] Press|edition=2nd |date=1995|ISBN=0-8203-3114-7}}</ref>  

Flournoy was originally a [[segregation]]ist though he later hired the first [[African-American]] deputies in Caddo Parish. When state Senator [[William Rainach]] of Claiborne Parish, an unsuccessful segregationist gubernatorial contender in 1959, telephoned Flournoy to inform him that one of the African-American deputies had spoken in support of racial integration, Flournoy dismissed the deputy.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QnQbw5EyPREC&pg=PA210&lpg=PA210 |author=Adam Fairclough|title= Race and Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915–1972|location=Athens, [[Georgia]]|publisher=[[University of Georgia]] Press|edition=2nd |date=1995|ISBN=0-8203-3114-7}}</ref>  

In 1964, Flournoy, a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], broke party lines to endorse the [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[U.S. Senator]] [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] for the presidency in the [[general election]] against [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. Joining Flournoy in support of Goldwater, who spoke in Shreveport on September 17, were former Governors Sam Jones and [[Robert F. Kennon]], State Senator Jackson Beauregard Davis (1918-2016) of Shreveport, Louisiana Secretary of State Wade Omer Martin, Jr. (1911-1990), Lieutenant Governor Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock  (1915-1987) of Franklin in St. Mary Parish, and the then the long-term [[mayor]] of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], William Lorenzo "Jack" Howard (1921-2004).<ref>''Shreveport Journal,'' September 17, 1964 (afternoon paper), p. 1.</ref>

In 1964, Flournoy, a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], broke party lines to endorse the [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[U.S. Senator]] [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] for the presidency in the [[general election]] against [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. Joining Flournoy in support of Goldwater, who spoke in Shreveport on September 17, were former Governors Sam Jones and [[Robert F. Kennon]], State Senator Jackson Beauregard Davis (1918-2016) of Shreveport, Louisiana Secretary of State Wade Omer Martin, Jr. (1911-1990), Lieutenant Governor Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock  (1915–1987) of Franklin in St. Mary Parish, and the then the long-term [[mayor]] of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], William Lorenzo "Jack" Howard (1921–2004).<ref>''Shreveport Journal,'' September 17, 1964 (afternoon paper), p. 1.</ref>

In 1947, Flournoy hired [[Harold Terry]] as a deputy, later the manager of the Junior Rifle Program and an expert marksman. Terry himself was sheriff for a single term from 1976 to 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045040/http://www.oralhistory.ws/tpl/index3.php?view=profile&client=5031|title=Harold M. Terry|publisher=Oralhistory.w |accessdate=September 19, 2014}}</ref>

In 1947, Flournoy hired [[Harold Terry]] as a deputy, later the manager of the Junior Rifle Program and an expert marksman. Terry himself was sheriff for a single term from 1976 to 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045040/http://www.oralhistory.ws/tpl/index3.php?view=profile&client=5031|title=Harold M. Terry|publisher=Oralhistory.w |accessdate=September 19, 2014}}</ref>

In 1952, Flournoy hired George Wendell D'Artois, Sr. (1925-1977) as a deputy sheriff, a post he held for nine years. D'Artois stepped down in 1962 to run successfully for Shreveport public service commissioner, a position abolished in 1978 under the mayor-counciln city charter.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvpN1t9TMrgC&pg=PA81 |title=Bill Keith, The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death |location=Gretna, Louisiana |publisher=Pelican Publishing Company |date=2009 |pages=80–89 |ISBN=9781-58980-655-9}}</ref>

In 1952, Flournoy hired George Wendell D'Artois Sr. (1925–1977) as a deputy sheriff, a post he held for nine years. D'Artois stepped down in 1962 to run successfully for Shreveport public service commissioner, a position abolished in 1978 under the mayor-counciln city charter.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvpN1t9TMrgC&pg=PA81 |title=Bill Keith, The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death |location=Gretna, Louisiana |publisher=Pelican Publishing Company |date=2009 |pages=80–89 |ISBN=9781-58980-655-9}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==

==Personal life and death==