Lemuel Theophilus Jones Jr. (March 15, 1924 – December 17, 1995) was an American politician in the state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He served in the

Missouri State Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

as a Republican from 1965 to 1975.

Early life

Lemuel Theophilus Jones Jr. was born on March 15, 1924, to Lemuel and Jessie Jones in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. They moved to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

in his childhood, where Jones attended local schools, including Southwest High School, Kansas City Junior College, and the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. After graduating, Jones was commissioned as an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, where he served as a pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, reaching the rank of

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. After the war, he attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, studying for his

LLB 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 China, People's Republic ...

. There, he married Laverne Boes, and the two would go on to have two children, David and Marcia. He then moved back to Kansas City and started a law practice, where he entered local politics with the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

Political career

Jones' first foray into politics was when he ran for

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

from

Missouri's 5th congressional district Missouri's 5th congressional district has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, the former Mayor of Kansas City, since 2005. The district primarily consists of the inner ring of the Kansas ...

, but he lost the election to Richard W. Bolling. Despite his loss, he persisted in local politics, serving on the Jackson County Republican Committee from 1962 to 1964 and the St. Louis 9th Ward Republican Committee from 1962 to 1966. He then was elected to the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

in a special election taking place in the 10th district. He was re-elected in 1966 and 1970 but lost his bid for a third term to

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 ...

Harry Wiggins Harry Wiggins (August 1, 1932 – July 31, 2004) was an American politician who served in the Missouri Senate. He served in the U.S. Army between 1957 and 1959. On August 18, 1961, he was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Wester ...

in 1974. In 1968, Jones ran for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, winning the Republican primary with 55 percent of the vote. However, he lost the general election to Democrat William S. Morris.

Later life

After leaving office, Jones returned to private life. He was as a trustee of Research Medical Center from 1957 to 1991 and a Chairman of the Board of the Research Medical Center College of Nursing until his retirement in 1994. He was also a founder and Chairman of the Board of CGI Long Distance Company, headquartered in

Mission, Kansas Mission is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,954. History An Indian mission was established in 1829 at the town's site, hence ...

. He died on December 17, 1995, at age 71. He was interred at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.

Electoral history

, + Missouri's 5th congressional district: 1956 Republican primary ! Year ! ! Subject ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Votes ! % , - , 1956 , , , , Lem T. Jones , , 7,605 , , 72.71 , , , , Kenneth Dickey , , 1,983 , , 57.22 , , , , Elizabeth B. Caulk , , 872 , , 8.34 , + Missouri's 5th congressional district: Results 1956 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

, , , , Lem T. Jones , ,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, , 57,778 , , 42.78 , , , , Richard W. Bolling (inc.) , , Democratic , , 77,287 , , 57.22 , + Missouri's 10th State Senate district: August 1965 special election ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , 1965 , , , , Lem T. Jones , ,

, , 9,895 , , 59.27 , , , , John P. Ryan , , Democratic , , 6,800 , , 40.73 , + Missouri's 10th State Senate district: Results 1966-1974 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , 1966 , , , , Lem T. Jones , ,

, , 18,271 , , 53.02 , , , , John A. Biersmith , , Democratic , , 16,189 , , 46.98 , - , 1970 , , , , Lem T. Jones (inc.) , ,

, , 22,004 , , 55.12 , , , Reynolds D. Rodgers , , Democratic , , 17,918 , , 44.88 , - , 1974 , , , , Lem T. Jones (inc.) , ,

, , 14,967 , , 40.56 , , ,

, , Democratic , , 21,931 , , 59.44 , + Missouri Lieutenant Governor: 1968 Republican primary ! Year ! ! Subject ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Votes ! % , - , 1968 , , , , Lem T. Jones , , 115,179 , , 55.91 , , , , George R. Hart , , 69,978 , , 33.97 , , , , James Pirtle , , 20,858 , , 10.13 , + Missouri Lieutenant Governor: Results 1968 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, , , , Lem T. Jones , ,

, , 733,850 , , 43.03 , , , , William S. Morris , , Democratic , , 971,684 , , 56.97

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Lem T. Jr. Republican Party Missouri state senators 1924 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Missouri politicians