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J. J. Pickle | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's10th district | |
| In office December 21, 1963 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Homer Thornberry |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Doggett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Jarrell Pickle October 11, 1913 Roscoe, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | June 18, 2005(2005-06-18) (aged 91) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Ella Nora Critz Beryl Bolton McCarroll |
| Children | Peggy Pickle |
James Jarrell "Jake" Pickle (October 11, 1913 – June 18, 2005) was aUnited States representative from the10th congressional district ofTexas from 1963 to 1995.
Pickle was born inRoscoe, Texas, and brought up inBig Spring.[1] He acquired his nickname Jake from a mischievous character he portrayed in a family play when he was four years old. Pickle was anEagle Scout and recipient of theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award from theBoy Scouts of America.
Pickle attended the public schools inBig Spring and received hisBachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Texas at Austin where he was a member of the 1934Southwest Conference championship swimming team and the student body president as a senior in 1937. He was also a member of theFriar Society.
Pickle was introduced by future governorJohn Connally to then-RepresentativeLyndon B. Johnson, who served as his political mentor. He worked on Johnson's 1940 re-election campaign and assisted Lady Bird Johnson in running the Congressional office. When the United States entered World War II, Pickle joined theU.S. Navy as a gunnery officer and was stationed on the cruisersUSS St. Louis andUSS Miami, surviving three torpedo attacks. When the war ended, he, Johnson, and Connally helped found a radio station (KVET) inAustin, Texas. After 10 years in the advertising business, he joined the Democratic Election Executive Committee of Texas in 1957.
Pickle was elected as aDemocrat to the88th Congress, byspecial election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. RepresentativeHomer Thornberry, who became a U.S. District judge. He represented the Austin-based district that Johnson had represented from 1937 to 1949. Pickle was reelected 15 times before retiring at the conclusion of the103rd Congress. His campaign trademark was a "squeakypickle" rubber toy he handed out to those he met in area parades.
While in the House, Pickle rose through the ranks to become the third ranking Democrat on theHouse Ways and Means Committee. Pickle voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1964 and1968,[2][3] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[4] He was one of only eight Southern Representatives to vote for theCivil Rights Act of 1964. Pickle went on to play a key role in passing majorSocial Security reform legislation in 1983 to save the system from insolvency. The reforms increased the payroll tax rate, slowly increased the full benefit retirement age to 67 and taxed some of the benefits. He considered this legislation his greatest accomplishment.
Pickle was able to steer research money to the University of Texas, and today the university'sJ. J. Pickle Research Campus is named in his honor. He was influential in the city ofAustin, Texas, as well, most notably for relocating Austin's main airport fromRobert Mueller Municipal Airport toAustin-Bergstrom International Airport. He was also instrumental in bringing theSEMATECH andMCC consortiums to Austin.
In 2007, the Texas Legislature unanimously approved a resolution designating theSH 130 Toll Road, which runs fromGeorgetown toSeguin, as "Pickle Parkway" to honor the late congressman.[5]
Before Pickle left forWorld War II in 1942, he married Ella Nora "Sugar" Critz. They had one daughter together. Critz died in 1952, and Pickle married Beryl Bolton McCarroll in 1960.
Pickle was diagnosed withprostate cancer in 1991 andlymphoma in 2001. He died at his home in Austin on June 18, 2005, of complications from his cancer and is interred at theTexas State Cemetery there.
Peggy Pickle was Jake Pickle's only daughter. She still makes contributions to the University of Texas at Austin on her father's behalf. In 1997, Jake and Peggy Pickle wrote a book together calledJake with a foreword by former Texas governorAnn Richards.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Homer Thornberry (D) | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 10th congressional district 1963–1995 | Succeeded by Lloyd Doggett (D) |
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