John Jacob "Jay" Rhodes III (September 8, 1943 – January 20, 2011) was a Republican Representative from Arizona's 1st congressional district.

Youth and education

Rhodes was born in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Communit ...

. His father and namesake,

John Jacob Rhodes John Jacob Rhodes Jr. (September 18, 1916 – August 24, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Rhodes was elected as a U.S. Representative from Arizona. He was the Minority Leader in the House 1973– ...

, represented the 1st district from 1953 to 1983. As a result, the younger Rhodes spent much of his youth in Washington, D. C. He graduated from the Landon School in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...

(1961); graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

(1965) with an A.B., and from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

College of Law in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

with a J.D. (1968). Rhodes joined the

United States 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, ...

in 1968, served in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

, and left as a captain in 1970. He was admitted to the Arizona State bar in 1968 and commenced practice in Mesa. Rhodes was a Republican district chairman (1972–1982), served on the Mesa Board of Education (1973–1976), and served with Central Arizona Water Conservation District (1983–1986).

While in Congress

After his father's successor,

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

, was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

, Rhodes jumped in the Republican primary for his father's seat, anchored in the East Valley. Despite his name recognition in the district, he faced a tough contest in the four-way Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district. While he won the nomination, it was only by 5,000 votes, and he fell far short of a majority. Nonetheless, he romped to victory in November with 71 percent of the vote. He was reelected almost as easily in 1988, and in 1990 no Democrat even filed to run against him. Rhodes appeared to be a heavy favorite for a fourth term in 1992. His district had become even more Republican on paper when redistricting shifted several majority-Hispanic neighborhoods in Phoenix to the 2nd District. However, his Democratic challenger,

Sam Coppersmith Samuel George Coppersmith (born May 22, 1955) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Early years ...

, hammered Rhodes for several ethical lapses. In one of the biggest upsets in Arizona political history, Coppersmith defeated Rhodes by just over six points. After his defeat, he remained in Washington, D.C.

Accident and death

Rhodes died on January 20, 2011 at the

Veterans Administration Medical Center Veterans' health care in the United States is separated geographically into 19 regions (numbered 1, 2, 4-10, 12 and 15–23) In January 2002, the Veterans Health Administration announced the merger of VISNs 13 and 14 to create a new, combined netw ...

in Washington, D.C. Rhodes had been treated for three fractured

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...

he sustained in an automobile accident in October 2010. He was found unconscious ten days before his death and began suffering organ failure. He was survived by his wife, Jane, sons John, Taylor, Jeremy, Dennis and Arthur, and mother, Betty Rhodes.

Notes

External links

Finding Aid to the John J. Rhodes Papers at Arizona State University
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, John Jacob, III 1943 births 2011 deaths United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Arizona lawyers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Politicians from Mesa, Arizona Military personnel from Arizona University of Arizona alumni Yale University alumni United States Army officers Deaths from organ failure Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers