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Rufus E. Jones

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Rufus E. Jones
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 86th district
In office
1981–1996
Preceded byEmmitt Ford
Succeeded byBarbara Cooper
Personal details
Born(1940-08-21)August 21, 1940
Memphis, Tennessee
DiedOctober 20, 2019(2019-10-20) (aged 79)
Memphis, Tennessee
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMarvis Kneeland-Jones
Alma materMichigan State University
ProfessionGrocer

Rufus E. Jones (August 21, 1940 – October 20, 2019)[1] was an American politician and businessman.

Early life

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Jones grew up in the Boxtown neighborhood of South Memphis where his father operated Jones Supermarket.[2] As a youngster, he went in the grocery business with his father. Jones and his father also operated another South Memphis grocery store, Jones Big Star.[2][3] He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and Michigan State University.

Political career

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Jones succeeded his childhood friend Emmitt Ford in the Tennessee House of Representatives and served from 1981 to 1996. He was a Democrat.[4] He was succeeded by Barbara Cooper.[5] Jones was the Tennessean delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1996.[6]

Personal

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He was married to Marvis Kneeland-Jones, a retired schoolteacher. She was a member of the Memphis State Eight, the first group of African-American students to attend the University of Memphis, five years after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of desegregation in Brown v. Board of Education.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Longtime legislator Rufus E. Jones dies at age 79". The Daily Memphian.
  2. ^ a b Mitchell, Sybill C. (November 21, 2007). "Towne Center at Soulsville vision reflects a grocery store's past". Tri-State Defender. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  3. ^ Dries, Bill (August 2, 2010). "In Search of an Oasis". Memphis Daily News. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "RUFUS E. JONES". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  5. ^ "BARBARA W. COOPER". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  6. ^ "Jones, Rufus, Jr". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "Marvis Kneeland-Jones". The History Makers. July 27, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2014.