John Arthur Eaves Sr. (July 31, 1935 – March 18, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served one term in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

from 1972 to 1976 and made three unsuccessful bids for gubernatorial office in 1975, 1979, and 1987.

Early life

John Arthur Eaves was born on July 31, 1935, in

Louisville, Mississippi Louisville (pronounced LEW-iss-vill) is a city in Winston County, Mississippi. The population was 6,631 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Winston County. History Like Winston County, Louisville is named for Louis Winston (1784–1824) ...

. He graduated from Louisville High School in 1954 and

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

in 1959 with a degree in geology. He subsequently joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, reaching the rank of sergeant and serving as a

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that provi ...

in the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...

before obtaining 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 ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Mississippi School of Law The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law offers the only dedicated aerospace law curr ...

. He married Patricia Lovorn on August 23, 1963, and had three children with her: John Arthur Jr., Paige, and Tiffany. He began practicing law in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, in 1963 and established a reputation as a successful trial lawyer.

Political career

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Eaves served one term in the

from 1972 to 1976, representing the 31st District. Eaves mounted his first gubernatorial bid in 1975, finishing fourth in the Democratic primary with 50,606 votes. In 1979 he ran again, placing third in the primary with 143,411 votes. He launched his final campaign in 1987, finishing fourth with 98,517 votes.

Later life

Eaves died on March 18, 2022, at the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, succumbing to cancer.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaves, John Arthur 1935 births 2022 deaths Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Lawyers from Jackson, Mississippi United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps