Jack Edwards | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | District reestablished (redistricting) |
| Succeeded by | Sonny Callahan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Jackson Edwards (1928-09-20)September 20, 1928 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | September 27, 2019(2019-09-27) (aged 91) Fairhope, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Jolane |
| Relations | William F. Aldrich (great-great grandfather) |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Attorney, lawmaker |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1947-1951 |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
William Jackson Edwards (September 20, 1928 – September 27, 2019) was anAlabama lawyer and politician who represented the1st Congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1965 to 1985. ARepublican, Edwards first won election to Congress in 1964, one of five Republicans elected to the House from Alabama amid Republican presidential nomineeBarry Goldwater's sweep of the state in that year's presidential election.
DuringRonald Reagan's presidency, Edwards became thevice chairman of the Republican leadership and was a member of theUnited States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. He oversaw the funding for the rebuilding efforts of Alabama'sDauphin Island Bridge in 1979.
William Jackson Edwards III was born nearBirmingham, Alabama in 1928. His father, William Jackson Edwards Jr., had grown up inDecatur, Alabama and worked for theRural Electrification Administration at various jobs and receiving promotions until he headed the engineering department. Young Jack also knew and shared his formal name with his long-lived grandfather, William Jackson Edwards. He had a sister, Julia Caroline Edwards Brock, and grew up inHomewood, Alabama during theGreat Depression. His great-grandfather was Perry Jackson Edwards (1847–1919) of Decatur, Alabama (nicknamed "Captain Jack"), who rose to become chief inspector of theLouisville and Nashville Railroad. Young Jack also knew his long-lived great uncle Perry Jackson Edwards. When young Jack was 17, he joined theU.S. Marine Corps and served until 1951 (as theKorean War began).[1][2] His great-great-grandfather,William F. Aldrich, had been the last Republican congressman from the state, serving (with a few months' break) from 1896 to 1901.[citation needed]
He attended theUniversity of Alabama and became the president of the Student Government Association, then attended theUniversity of Alabama School of Law, graduating in 1954.[3]
After becoming a member of the Alabama Bar, Edwards eventually moved toPoint Clear, a suburb ofMobile and opened a law practice there.[citation needed] He became president of the Mobile AreaJaycees and in 1961 was named one of the Outstanding Young Men in America by the national Jaycees organization. Edwards also served as president of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo as well as chairman of America's Junior Miss Pageant.[3] Beginning in 1960, he advised Mobile's Planning Commission's Transportation Policy Committee.
In November 1964, Edwards defeatedDemocratJohn M. Tyson Sr. and Mobile activist Noble Beasley to become the U.S. Congressman representingAlabama's 1st congressional district.[4] Alabama had lost one of its nine seats after the 1960 federal census, and after a statewide vote, the first district's Democratic incumbent,Frank Boykin, a 28-year congressional veteran recently again implicated in a corruption scandal, had been the lowest vote-getter and thusredistricted out of his office. Since Alabama could not actually lose its first district, Tyson (a lawyer like Edwards and who served in both houses of theAlabama legislature) had become his party's candidate after the Democratic primary in which he defeatedClara Stone Fields, the only woman in theAlabama legislature during that decade.
Edwards became one of five Republicans elected to the House from Alabama (the others beingJames D. Martin,John Hall Buchanan,Glenn Andrews, andWilliam Louis Dickinson) amid Republican presidential nomineeBarry Goldwater's sweep of the state in that year's presidential election.[5] Edwards defeatedDemocrat John Tyson Sr. by 19 points. He went on to be reelected nine times and served alongside five American presidents.[5] The Mobile area's voters, like most of their counterparts in Alabama, turned against the Democrats afterLyndon Johnson signed theCivil Rights Act of 1964. Parts of the district had been among the first parts of Alabama where old-line Democrats began splitting their tickets as early as the 1940s. Edwards also picked up long coattails from Goldwater, who carried the district by well over 70 percent of the vote.
Although most of the 1st's living residents had never been represented by a Republican before, Edwards became very popular in his district, to the point that he would never face a close contest for reelection. He only dropped below 59 percent of the vote once, in 1968. Despite this, Democrats would hold most of the area's seats in the state legislature well into the 1990s.
During his time in Congress, Edwards worked for development of theTennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and served on the House Appropriations Committee as well as became the ranking Republican on the Defense subcommittee.[3] Reportedly President Ronald Reagan's point man to improve national defense, Edwards also led efforts to establish both theBon Secour National Wildlife Refuge and theWeeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.[1] During Reagan's presidency, he became the vice chairman of the House Republican conference leadership. He was the ranking Republican member on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.[5] After serving on the committee for ten years, he had become a national defense expert.[6] He was also a member of the House Banking Committee.[1]
From 1973 to 1985, he was co-host of theGulf Coast Congressional Report, which aired onWKRG-TV in Mobile.[6]
According to the Alabama governor's office, Edwards was a strong supporter of Reagan's military buildup. In 1979, after a devastating hurricane, Alabama'sDauphin Island bridge had to be rebuilt, and Edwards oversaw the funding.[5]
Edwards announced he would not run again in 1984, and Vice-presidentGeorge H. W. Bush spoke at his retirement dinner. Edwards then joined the Hand Arendall law firm, where he practiced law for another two decades.[3] in 1988, he chaired theBase Realignment and Closure Commission.
Edwards continued his civic involvement in Mobile, becoming as chairman of the board of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as serving on various boards of trustees, including of theUniversity of Alabama System, his alma mater (from 1988 til 1999), and became its president after his retirement from the law firm.[3] He was a member on the boards of the Mobile Opera, Mobile Economic Development Council and the Mayor's Waterfront Advisory Committee, among others.[1] From 1987 to 1996, he served on the board of theMetropolitan Washington Airports Authority. In 1988, he served as co-chairman of the Secretary of Defense's first commission, known as the1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC I).[1]In his final years Edwards, worked in the areas of constitutional reform, education, the environment and economic development in theMobile area. He also served on the corporate boards of several companies such asThe Southern Company,Holcim Inc.,Northrop Grumman Corporation, QMS Inc.,Dravo Corporation andThe Aerospace Corporation.[1] According to Alabama governorKay Ivey, Edwards was respected by both Democrats and Republicans.[5]
In 1987, Edwards was named Alabama's Volunteer Industrial Developer of the Year. In 1985, he was inducted into theAlabama Academy of Honor.[1] In 1987, he was named Mobilian of the Year.[3] In 2005, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of theUniversity of Alabama's College of Communications and Information Sciences.[1]
Edwards died ofpancreatic cancer at his home inFairhope, Alabama, on September 27, 2019, one week after his 91st birthday. Alabama governorKay Ivey said Edwards "served his state and nation with the highest degree of integrity" and said flags at theAlabama State Capitol would be flown athalf-staff in his honor.[1][5]
A statement released by Edwards' family quoted him as having said "My hope is that my great grandchildren will grow up in a country where civility will have been returned to common discourse and to the efforts to solve the country’s problems."[5]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 1st congressional district 1965–1985 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
