Curtis S. Person Jr. (November 27, 1934 – September 4, 2020) was an American politician and a member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

for the 31st district, which is composed of part of Shelby County. He initially served in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

from 1966 to 1968 as a Democrat but shortly after switched parties, before serving in the state senate from 1968 until 2006. He served as the chair of the Judiciary Committee and as a member on the Ethics Committee and the General Welfare, Health and Human Resources Committee. Curtis S. Person served in many local leadership positions in Shelby County and in the Republican Party. He was Vice-Chairman of the Shelby County Legislative Delegation in 1970, 1975, 1976, and from 1985 to 1988. He was Chairman in 1977, 1983, and 1984, and Co-Chairman during 1973 and 1974. From 1973 to 1976, he was the Tennessee Senate Republican Whip, and he was Assistant Senate Republican Leader during the 96th

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

. He was also Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Caucus from 1976 to 1982. Curtis S. Person graduated from the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

in 1956 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree, and from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

in 1959 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree. He has been the Chief Legal Officer of the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County since 1995. He had previously been the Chief Referee of the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County from 1977 to 1995. During 1970 and 1971, Curtis S. Person was the President of the University of Memphis National Alumni Association and the Chairman of the Memphis Commission on Drug Abuse. From 1969 to 1973, he was the President of the Memphis-Shelby County Mental Health Association. From 1965 to 1966, he was the Charter President of the University of Memphis Tiger Rebounders. He is also a former director of the Southern Golf Association. He died on September 4, 2020, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

at age 85.

References

External links

Project Vote Smart biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Person, Curtis S. 1934 births 2020 deaths Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee University of Memphis alumni University of Mississippi alumni Tennessee state senators Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Tennessee Democrats Tennessee Republicans Tennessee lawyers