Jerry Lyle Pettis (July 18, 1916 – February 14, 1975) was an American politician and a four-term Congressman from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1967 to 1975. He was also a rancher, teacher, aviator, religious leader, and businessman. Pettis was the first Seventh Day Adventist elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Political career

In 1966, he was elected 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 ...

to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, and he was re-elected in 1968, 1970, 1972 and 1974. He represented California's 33rd Congressional District until January 1975 and its 37th Congressional District thereafter.

Background and personal life

Educated in Arizona and California, he graduated from

Pacific Union College Pacific Union College (PUC) is a private liberal arts college in Angwin, California. It is the only four-year college in Napa County. It is a coeducational residential college with an almost exclusively undergraduate student body. PUC is accre ...

Angwin, California Angwin is a census-designated place (CDP) in Napa County, California, best known as the site of Pacific Union College. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 3,051 at the 2010 census. Its area code is 707. Its two zi ...

in 1938. He did graduate work at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

in 1939-1941 before becoming a businessman. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

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 opposing ...

and was a pilot for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. He was a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

Death and legacy

Pettis was killed on February 14, 1975, when the Beechcraft Model V35B Bonanza he was piloting crashed near Cherry Valley, California, after he encountered adverse weather conditions.planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1970s
/ref> He is buried at Montecito Memorial Park in Colton, California. Pettis's wife,

Shirley Neil Pettis Shirley Neil Pettis (July 12, 1924 – December 30, 2016) was an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California between 1975 and 1979. She was first elected to fill the seat after her husband, Jerry Pettis, died in of ...

, replaced him in the House when she won a special election on April 29, 1975. The Jerry Pettis Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital in Loma Linda, California, was so named in his honor. His congressional papers are located in the Archives & Special Collections at Loma Linda University. During the 1970s, the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Scholarship was established and is awarded by the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's sta ...

Foundation to "students pursuing careers in science communications".

References

External links

*
Entry in the ''Biographical Directory of Congress''President Ford's statement on the occasion of his death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettis, Jerry University of Denver alumni Pacific Union College alumni 1916 births 1975 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States University of Southern California alumni Accidental deaths in California American Seventh-day Adventists Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II 20th-century American politicians Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1975

Political career

Background and personal life

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links