Johnny Ray Bodiford (June 14, 1936 - July 12, 1989) was an American

insurance agent Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

from

Selmer, Tennessee Selmer is a town in and the county seat of McNairy County, Tennessee, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 4,396 at the 2010 census and estimated at 4,400 at the 2018 census. It is named after Selma, Alabama. Buford Pusser se ...

who served as a

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 ...

member of 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 the 70th district ( Hardin and McNairy counties and parts of Wayne,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Hardeman counties) from 1973 to 1976. He succeeded fellow Republican (and insurance agent)

Granville Hinton Isom Granville Hinton (February 10, 1929 – April 27, 1996) was an insurance agent from Savannah, Tennessee who served as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from various districts including Hardin and McNairy countie ...

, and was succeeded by Republican

Herman L. Wolfe, Sr. Herman L. Wolfe Sr. (September 3, 1930 – February 3, 1989) was a businessman from Savannah, Tennessee, Savannah, Tennessee, who served seven terms as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representat ...

He was a member of the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

1977 Limited Constitutional Convention. In 1980, he ran what was described as a "strong campaign" against longtime incumbent state senator and Lieutenant Governor

John S. Wilder John Shelton Wilder (June 3, 1921 – January 1, 2010) was an American politician who was the 48th Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee for 36 years from January 1971 to January 2007, possibly the longest time anyone has served as Lieutenant Gove ...

, but was unable to defeat him.

Personal life

He was married to Bernice Nixon Bodiford, who is listed as his widow in her March 2005 obituary. He was a member of the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

, and a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

.Tennessee House of Representatives: 89th General Assembly - Members: Ray Bodiford
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References

1936 births 1989 deaths Businesspeople from Tennessee Insurance agents Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives People from McNairy County, Tennessee 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians {{Tennessee-politician-stub