Jerry Thomasson
| Jerry Kreth Thomasson | |
Arkansas State Representative
for Clark County | |
| In office January 1, 1963 – December 31, 1966 | |
| Born | October 17, 1931 Arkadelphia, Clark County Arkansas, USA |
|---|---|
| Died | April 29, 2007 (aged 75) Resting place: |
| Political party | Democrat-turned-Republican (1966) |
| Spouse(s) | Dortha Juanita Yates Thomasson (married 1960-2007, his death) |
| Children | Bryan Keith Thomasson Grace Ann Thomasson Weber |
| Residence | Arkadelphia, Arkansas |
| Alma mater | Arkadelphia High School Henderson State University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Military Service
| |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
Jerry Kreth Thomasson (October 17, 1931 – April 29, 2007)[1] was an attorney from Arkadelphia, Arkansas and a Democratic state representative for Clark County, who in 1966 switched to the Republican Party and ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general in 1966 and 1968, both times on the ticket of Winthrop Rockefeller.[2]
Background
Thomasson was born in Arkadelphia, the seat of staunchly Democratic Clark County in south central Arkansas, to Joseph Baron Thomasson (1889--1966) and the former Lillian Gertrude Dean (1891-1969). He graduated in 1949 from Arkadelphia High School and attended the then Henderson State Teachers College there. He was a veteran of the Korean War. In 1959, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from the William H. Bowen School of Law in the capital city of Little Rock.[3]
In 1960, Thomasson married Dortha Juanita Yates (1937-2010) in Bismarck in Hot Spring County, not to be confused with the nearby resort city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. They had a son, Bryan Keith Thomasson (born 1962), and a daughter, Grace Ann Weber. The daughter of El Dad "E.D." Yates (1888-1983) and the former Grace Lee Pierce (1898-1993). Mrs. Thomasson was the director of nurses at Clark County Memorial Hospital and the owner of McNutt Bed and Breakfast in Arkadelphia. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia.[4]
Career
Thomasson was in private law practice for eight years with Huie, Huie & Thomasson in Arkadelphia. He was a referee for the Arkansas Workmen’s Compensation Commission from 1960 to 1961. From 1959 to 1960, Thomasson was the librarian of the Arkansas Supreme Court when segregationist James Douglas "Justice Jim" Johnson of Conway in Faulkner County was an associate justice. Thomasson was also a past chairman for the Legal Aid Committee of the Arkansas Bar Association.[3]
As a Democratic member of the Arkansas House (1963-1966), Thomasson introduced legislation to add white safety lines to the outside edges of Arkansas highways. He introduced the 1967 bill to change Henderson State Teachers College to Henderson State College; the change finally occurred in 1985. He was a lifelong devotee of his alma mater, now known as Henderson State University.[3] When Thomasson ran for attorney general in 1966, he expected to face the Democratic incumbent, Bruce Bennett. However, in the Democratic primary election, Joe Edward Purcell (1923-1987) of Benton in Saline County, unseated the segregationist Bennett, an attorney from El Dorado. During the campaign, both Thomasson and Purcell ran as reformers.[5]
Despite running on the Republican ticket with the successful gubernatorial candidate, Winthrop Rockefeller, Thomasson lost in the general election. Purcell received 287,983 votes (53.9 percent) to Thomasson's 246,133 (46.1 percent). Thomasson carried twelve of the state's seventy-five counties and received more than 60 percent of the ballots in Baxter, Benton, Searcy, Sebastian, and Washington counties. He also won in Crawford County near Fort Smith, which Rockefeller lost. His strength was concentrated in the northwestern portion of the state. Indeed he lost his own Clark County in the race against Purcell.[6]
In 1968, Thomasson again challenged Purcell. He received 240,725 votes (41.4 percent) to Purcell's 341,233 (58.6 percent). Thomasson won nine counties, again all in northwestern Arkansas, three fewer than he had in 1966.[7] From 1968 to 1971, he was the director of planning for Region VI under Title XVI of the Social Security Act.[3] In 1971, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon appointed Thomasson as an administrative law judge of the Social Security Administration, a position that he retained until his retirement in 2000.[2]
Despite his party switch in 1966, Thomasson was a friend and supporter of former President Bill Clinton and is mentioned in Clinton’s autobiography as "a fair-minded Republican."[8].
References
- ↑ Jerry Thomasson. Mylife.com. Retrieved on May 1, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jerry Thomasson obituary, The Arkadelphia Daily Siftings Herald, May 2, 2007.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jerry K Thomasson (1931-2007) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed May 1, 2021.
- ↑ Juanita Yates Thomasson (1937-2010) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed May 1, 2021.
- ↑ Arkansas Outlook, August 1966.
- ↑ Billy Hathorn, The Republican Party in Arkansas, 1920-1982, Texas A&M University dissertation, pp. 271, 573.
- ↑ "The Republican Party in Arkansas, p. 578.
- ↑ Bill Clinton, My Life, p. 231.
