John Elton Coon (August 10, 1907 – March 9, 1993) was a Democratic politician from Monroe,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, who served from 1948 to 1949 in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

and from 1949 to 1956 as the mayor of Monroe. Coon resigned after less than two years in the state House to become mayor of Monroe upon the death at the age of thirty-seven of his predecessor, George Olan Breece (October 21, 1912 – November 6, 1949), a native of Kanawha,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Coon then won a full term as mayor in 1952 and was succeeded in 1956 by fellow Democrat W. L. "Jack" Howard, who served for five nonconsecutive terms in the office between 1956 and 1978. After his mayoral tenure, Coon was from 1956 to 1964 the Louisiana state fire marshal under

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Earl Kemp Long Earl Kemp Long (August 26, 1895 – September 5, 1960) was an American politician and the 45th governor of Louisiana, serving three nonconsecutive terms. Long, known as "Uncle Earl", connected with voters through his folksy demeanor and c ...

and

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American politician, singer and songwriter of both sacred and popular songs. Davis was elected for two nonconsecutive terms from 1944 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964 as the ...

. Coon was the youngest child of the former Henrietta Henson (1865–1947) and Jacob Allen Coon (1858–1919) of the Okaloosa Community in Ouachita Parish. Coon's father died before Coon was a teenager. His sister and last surviving sibling was Eunice Coon Williamson (1891–1991), an English and foreign languages faculty member from 1928 to 1958 at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...

Ruston Ruston may refer to: Place names ;United States * Ruston, Louisiana * Ruston, Washington ;United Kingdom * East Ruston, Norfolk, England * Ruston, North Yorkshire, England * Ruston Parva, East Riding of Yorkshire, England Companies * Ruston (engi ...

. Coon's first wife, the former Lera Whitten (1907–1980), was a 40-year teacher at

Ouachita Parish High School Ouachita Parish High School is a high school located in unincorporated Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Monroe. It is administrated by the Ouachita Parish School Board. It is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleg ...

; after her death, he wed the widowed Mattie Rose Ferguson Barnett Downs (1910-1998). Coon had a stepson, the late John Harden Barnett Downs, a five-term at-large member of the Alexandria City Council for whom the Johnny Downs Sports Complex in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

is named. Johnny Downs' adopted father and Mattie Coon's previous husband was Malcolm Calvin Downs (1907–1953). Coon graduated in 1929 from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He was a member of First Families of Mississippi, the Masonic lodge, and the

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

. Coon was an honorary lifetime member of the Louisiana Firemen's Association and the International Chiefs of Police. He received the "Silver Medal of Good Citizenship" from the Sons of the American Revolution. He was a member of the First

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

of Monroe. Coon died in Monroe at the age of eighty-five. He and both of his wives are interred there at Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coon, John Elton 1907 births 1993 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Louisiana Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Mayors of Monroe, Louisiana Tulane University alumni 20th-century American legislators Burials in Louisiana American United Methodists 20th-century Methodists